DAVAO CITY mayor Rodrigo Duterte ordered the team he sent to Yolanda-ravaged Leyte to shoot whoever will stop the convoy he sent before reaching the intended destinations.
The city sent a convoy of 20 doctors, 20 nurses and a 40-man team from Rescue 911 to aid in the relief efforts for the survivors of super typhoon Yolanda. The team is also bringing antibiotics and medicines against pneumonia and tetanus.
If the team will be harassed by Yolanda survivors, Duterte’s order was for the team to shoot.
“I told them if some people will try to stop them they tell those people that they are sent by the Davao City government to send help to the victims of the typhoon,” Duterte said Monday morning. “If they will not listen, shoot them in the foot,” Duterte said.
The problem, he said, is that the desperation of the people for help has resulted in them ambushing vans carrying relief assistance.
“I would not make a sweeping accusation but along the way the people are being cannibalized,” he said. “So my order is when they are stopped, they just have to announce that they are a contingent from Davao City and they are there with doctors and medicines. And if they will be stopped, they tell the people that my order is for them to be shot in the feet. That is what to be done in when there is anarchy.”
Duterte, who flew to Tacloban, said anarchy in areas ravaged by Yolanda must not rule. After the onslaught of the super typhoon, survivors in ravaged areas have ransacked establishments, taking away food and other supplies. Survivors even attacked a Philippine National Red Cross team who was bringing food to affected residents in Tacloban City.
The mayor went to Tacloban to personally deliver the city’s aid. Davao City is giving P7 million (not P8 million as earlier reported by NewsDesk) in aid for the victims. Duterte said he will also assess how long the team must stay there.
“There is an imperative need and moral obligation for Dabawenyos to help and I will be there,” he said.
As of last night, the team stopped in Maasin, Southern Leyte because of impassable roads. The military has already cleared the roads. Duterte, who will be overseeing the Davao team, said three choppers are on standby to be used by the medical team to reach farflung areas.
Duterte was born in Maasin, one of Yolanda-affected areas in Southern Leyte. | NewsDesk
