Duterte gives 48-hour ultimatum for drug pushers to leave Davao City

DAVAO CITY -- Seven months after issuing a warning to a village leader and residents in the city, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte issued a stern warning anew to all drug peddlers and users to leave the city within 48 hours.During a command conference on Monday afternoon, Duterte gave an ultimatum to all the drug peddlers and users living in the Boulevard area to get out of the city.The Boulevard area is known to be a drug hot spot in the city.In a follow-up interview, the mayor said his warning was not only meant for the Boulevard residents but for the entire city.Duterte said that he was done talking to all village leaders to clean their respective barangays but nothing has happened, leaving the mayor with no other option but to reiterate his warning.He said that he already tagged the houses of suspected drug peddlers as pinpointed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 11 through their order of battle.He said he will not wait for the drug peddlers to commit a crime for they themselves already know they are into illegal activities for their involvement in illegal drugs.Barangay 23-C captain Alimoden Usman previously said they have been conducting foot patrols in their area during nighttime but they are also under watch by suspected drug peddlers.He also admitted that illegal drug activities have always been the major problem of their village for a long time.Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Director Vicente Danao Jr. said they will continue with their relentless campaign against illegal drugs” in the city. We have target personalities right now, but we cannot divulge them,” Danao said. Danao also clarified that they will not just focus their operations in the Boulevard area but in the entire city.Meanwhile, Sta. Ana Police Chief Royina Garma admitted they are having a hard time apprehending those drug peddlers and users in their area.She revealed that in Mini Forest alone, they have been monitoring three women drug carriers who have been going in and out of the city. (PNA)FFC/BNB/LCM/FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA/LDP