Duterte warns mayors he will remove their police power if they underperform

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday warned mayors that he would strip them of their police power if they are not performing well in the fight against criminality and illegal drugs.

"If ang mayor cannot enforce law and order in their municipality, I will just withdraw his deputization. They are deputies of the Napolcom [National Police Commission]," Duterte told reporters in Panglao, Bohol. "They can just sit there as a civilian."

Duterte took issue with the “nonchalant” attitude of some officials toward the problem of illegal drugs and crime, prompting him to direct the Department of the Interior and Local Government to conduct an audit of local officials' performance.

He had also threatened to file charges against local officials deemed incompetent.

"I am not satisfied by the way they have responded to the problem and I see that there has always been a rise in the municipalities throughout the Philippines...mayors who do not want to do their duties," Duterte said.

"If that is the way how you behave as a mayor, you better go out. Eh di ibigay mo dito sa mga vice mayors. Marami ‘yan sila naghihintay," he added.

Even before the President ordered a performance audit, the Napolcom had already stripped a governor and some mayors of their supervision and control over the police in their respective jurisdictions due to either alleged drug links or abuse of authority.

According to the Napolcom, the local officials' alleged involvement in illegal drugs negated the effectiveness of the peace and order campaign and thus serves as a valid ground for suspension or withdrawal of deputation power. — BM, GMA News