Matobato surrenders to PNP, to be taken to Davao

A CIDG source sent to INQUIRER.net photos of confessed killed Edgar Matobato undergoing booking procedures at Camp Crame. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV later presented him to PNP chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS

Accompanied by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, erstwhile Senate witness on extrajudicial killings Edgar Matobato surrendered to the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City yesterday.

Matobato, who earlier admitted being part of the Davao Death Squad and even linked President Rodrigo Duterte to the vigilante group, was ordered arrested by a court in Davao City for failing to attend last Tuesday the arraignment of the illegal firearms possession case filed against him two years ago.

Trillanes and Matobato arrived at Camp Crame at around 9 a.m. Matobato was brought to the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region office for the booking process about 30 minutes later. He was read his rights and handcuffed.

“I’m giving my life to God; whatever happens to me, I’ll accept,” he told reporters in a brief interview upon his arrival.

PNP chief Director-General Ronald dela Rosa said Matobato will be brought to the court in compliance with the judge’s order. Dela Rosa also guaranteed Matobato’s safety while in detention and in the trip to Davao.

Asked about concerns that Matobato will not be safe in Davao since he tagged several former and current policemen as vigilantes, Dela Rosa replied, “That’s their opinion. For me, it’s safer in Davao. I’m from there. We can manage the situation there, I know the place very well, so he’ll be safe there.”

He added that Matabato will be given a bullet proof vest and even a helmet if only to assuage concerns about his safety.

“I’m giving the assurance that if he’ll be killed, it will be over the dead bodies of our CIDG personnel assigned to him. That’s my word. We’ll give him a bullet-proof vest to wear, even a helmet, bullet-proof goggles and mask. We can armorize his whole body…If you want, we can even make him wear a bomb suit so that even if the vehicle explodes, he’ll remain safe. There won’t be a scratch on him; we’ll do everything to keep him safe,” he said.

Dela Rosa said that for security reasons, Matobato’s detention place at Camp Crame will not be divulged, adding that Matobato might stay at Camp Crame over the weekend before being brought to Davao.

Asked what Matobato told him during their conversation, Dela Rosa aired some sentiments about the case.

“We’re both from Davao. He knows me pretty well, so he felt calm. He told me in Visayan, ‘I am happy because I have seen you [here]. I’m no longer worried now that you’re here,’” Dela Rosa recounted.

Trillanes, for his part, said he sees no reason to doubt Dela Rosa’s assurance of Matobato’s safety.

“I respect [Dela Rosa’s opinion]; he has given me his word. I don’t have any reason to doubt it,” Trillanes said.

The senator said he would also continue providing protective custody to Matobato after he posts bail.

“We will get him again [after he posts bail]. I’ll continue to provide him protective custody. We won’t abandon him,” he said.

Matobato underwent a medical checkup for an old wound that has become infected, which he claimed came from torture. He was also found to have a high blood pressure.

In a separate interview with reporters, Trillanes called the timing of the issuance of the arrest warrant “highly suspicious.”

“What we see here is that this is the part of the persecution…If you are a critic of the President, this is what will happen to you,” Trillanes said.

The senator said Matabato was determined to face the case against him.

“He (Matobato) said his surrender here shows that he is not fleeing. Of course, in times like this, there is some anxiety, he doesn’t know what will happen to him. But it’s good that he was given PNP’s assurance [of safety],” he added.

“I’m holding to the word of the PNP to take care of Matobato, just like [what they’re doing] to all their detainees under their custody,” he added.

The senator said legal options were being studied by lawyers helping Matabato so that he won’t have to go to Davao to post bail for the arrest warrant. A motion for reconsideration for the new arrest warrant will also be filed, he said.

Trillanes said a pleading will also be prepared for the transfer of the venue of the case hearings out of Davao, preferably Manila, adding that sending Matabato to Davao was “like throwing him into the lion’s den” as the city is the turf of Duterte.

He said he hopes the judge would “do the right thing.”

The arrest warrant against Matobato is called a “bench warrant,” issued by a judge when an accused violates a court order, such as an order to appear for arraignment and hearings. If the accused is temporarily free on bail, the judge cancels the bail and issues a bench warrant of arrest so that authorities may apprehend the accused and bring him to court.

Trillanes said a lawyer helping Matobato will try to post bail at the Quezon City regional trial court.

Matabato earlier posted a P2,000-bail when the charge was filed against him in 2014. He claimed the police burst into his house without a warrant to seize his unlicensed firearm in an apparent attempt to link him to the murder of a businessman.

Trillanes, for his part, said Matobato will continue disclosing what he knows about the Davao Death Squad, either before another Senate committee or directly to the media. CDG/rga

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