No death squad, cops tell Senate committee

SENATE WITNESS SPO3 Arturo Lascañas, a Davao City police officer, testifies against the existence of the Davao Death Squad during amarathon Senate inquiry into extrajudicial killings on Monday. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

FOUR policemen alleged to be part of President Duterte’s death squad when he was mayor of Davao City on Monday denied the existence of such group, but admitted they knew confessed hit man Edgar Matobato.

SPO3 Arturo Lascañas, whom Matobato named as head of the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS), told the joint hearing of the Senate justice and public order committees that there was no such group created to kill criminals in Davao City on orders of then Mayor Duterte.

“All lies,” was the repeated reply that Lascañas made on questioning whether he took part in the killings that Matobato claimed he did; that he was close to Mr. Duterte; and that the then mayor had given him orders to kill.

Lascañas said Matobato was probably being used by some people and that apparently Matobato wanted to destroy the President.

Like Lascañas, Senior Supt. Dionisio Abude, PO3 Enrique de los Reyes Ayao and PO1 Vivencio Jumawan sought to debunk Matobato’s claims about the death squad.

The four policemen were presented by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano at the resumption of the Senate inquiry into alleged extrajudicial killings amid the deadly war on drugs that had drawn widespread condemnation from human rights groups, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.

Twelve other Davao policemen were summoned later in the evening to face the senators. All of them  dismissed talk of a DDS. After 10 hours, the hearing was adjourned until today.

Matobato had earlier named 22 policemen and rebel returnees who were allegedly members of the DDS under then Mayor Duterte. He implicated the President in the killing of more than 1,000 criminals in the city on his watch as mayor.

Business partners

At the hearing, Lascañas did not deny he knew Matobato, saying they did business together, as he sold real estate as a sideline and that they were able to sell five to six properties in three years.

He also said he had recommended Matobato to become the bodyguard of a newly elected mayor on Samal Island, a job Matobato held for three years.

“There is no DDS, that’s just media hype,” Lascañas said.

He also denied he was a member of the  “Lambada Boys,” which became the death squad as Matobato claimed.

Lascañas said he was not involved in bombing a mosque or abducting and killing the alleged terrorist Sali Makdum or even killing a man and feeding his body to crocodiles.

Lascañas told Sen. Leila de Lima that he did not know why Matobato was lying in his statements against him.

Politics

Asked by Sen. Panfilo Lacson about Matobato’s possible motive, Lascañas said: “Somebody must be behind him.”

“My personal opinion, maybe its because of politics … Maybe he wants to destroy President Duterte,” he said.

In the second round of questioning last night, Lascañas said he “pitied” Matobato, as some people could be using him.

Lascañas also said he was not close to Mr. Duterte, saying if he were he would have been able to help his two brothers who were killed by policemen in 2011 and 2014 for allegedly being involved in illegal drugs.

Credibility test

De Lima raised a report by GMA News that Lascañas and Chief Insp. Jacy “Jay” Francia, who was also named by Matobato as among the 22 members of the DDS, were assigned now to the Presidential Security Group (PSG).

Lascañas denied this. He said he was in a nonduty status now at the Philippine National Police.

PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa confirmed though that Francia was now with the PSG and that he had seen Francia thrice in Malacañang.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said senators had caught Lascañas lying about his story that he gave an old watch to Matobato, instead of a new one.

He showed a receipt for the new watch. “It’s a simple test of credibility … . It’s a harmless question but you instinctively lied,” Trillanes said.

Abude said that the heinous crime section of the Davao City police was not engaged in killing people as Matobato had claimed.

He said he knew Matobato, a relative of retired Senior Insp. Eduardo Matobato, but he denied that he was present during the planning of the 2002 killing of Makdum as Matobato had alleged.

Ombudsman’s reprimand

On De Lima’s questioning, Abude admitted that he was among 21 policemen penalized by the Ombudsman in 2012 for being unable to solve the unabated killings in Davao City being linked to the DDS.

He said cases in his jurisdiction were properly investigated but they were unable to solve them because there were “no witnesses.”

Ayao and Jumawan likewise denied membership in the DDS. The two said they were members of the heinous crime section and that they knew Matobato who hung around their office.

He shrugged off Matobato’s allegation that he took part in the bombing of a mosque in Davao City or in the killing of broadcast reporter Jun Pala and both denied they buried bodies in a quarry.

Replying to Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Ayao said he had known Matobato for a long time since Matobato hung around at the office of the heinous crime investigation section. He said he was assigned there from 2001 to 2009.

Ayao likened Matobato to Commander Robot, an Abu Sayyaf leader, because he was always wearing a camouflage uniform and brandishing an M14 rifle and a grenade.