No proof against Duterte; perjury, murder raps eyed vs Matobato

By: Maila Ager - 8 years ago

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Senate's Committee on Justice and Human Rights, gestures as he questions witnesses at the resumption of the Philippine Senate probe on extrajudicial killings in the continuing "war on drugs" campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines. The Philippine Senate's Committee on Justice and Human Rights, has invited witnesses to look into the possible human rights violations and extrajudicial killings in Davao city when Duterte was still the city mayor as well as the current "war on drugs" campaign by the present administration. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Justice and Human Rights. AP FILE PHOTO

A joint panel in the Senate that investigated alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the country has found no proof that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killings or that he was linked to the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS), Senator Richard Gordon said on Monday.

Gordon is chairman of the Senate committees on justice and human rights which conducted the investigation jointly with the committee on public order and dangerous drugs chaired by Senator Panfilo Lacson.

He said the joint panel will release its report anytime this week.

Asked if the President would be “safe” when the committees come up with a report, Gordon said: “For the moment. That’s my report. E walang na prove e (There has been no proof).”

He said the committees also failed to establish the existence of the so-called DDS, contrary to the testimony of confessed assassin Edgar Matobato.

Matobato, who claimed to be a former DDS member, has accused Duterte of ordering the killings of criminals and enemies when he was still mayor of Davao City.

READ: ‘Duterte ordered us to kill’

As to Matobato, Gordon said the joint panel might recommend the filing of perjury or, at most, murder case against him for admitting that he had killed several people in the past.

“Like I said last time, mukhang hindi mapagkakatiwalaan yung kanyang statement. Ang dami nyang kasinungalingang sinasabi, pabago bago. Hindi yung inconsistency lang e, vital e (his statement is not reliable. He statements contained many lies and were inconsistent. It’s not only about inconsistency but also the vital information),” he said.

“Baka ma-perjury sya (He might be charged with perjury) at the least and at most, they will look for murder charges against him because he admitted e,” the senator said.

Gordon recognized that there might be cases of EJKs but he expressed doubt that these were state-sponsored.

READ: No proof of state-sponsored drug killings, Gordon says

He noted that there were also a number of killings from 2010 to 2016 or during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III. RAM/rga