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By Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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Tuesday, March 7, 2017
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MANILA – Retired Senior Police Officer 3 Arturo Lascañas on Monday apologized for an abrupt turnaround from his previous statements on the “Davao Death Squad” (DDS).
“I feared for the life of my loved ones,” he said during the Monday’s resumption of the Senate investigation into DDS.
Lascañas, the self-confessed DDS team leader, said he made a “public confession” against President Rodrigo Duterte “because of my desire to tell all the truth.”
At the Feb. 20 Senate press conference, the retired cop confirmed the existence of the shadowy vigilante group and accused then Davao City mayor Duterte of paying police to kill crime suspects.
According to him, Duterte’s trusted aide, retired SPO4 Sonny Buenaventura instructed him to “deny everything” at the October 2016 hearing where he opposed the accusations made by confessed hit man Edgar Matobato about the prevalence of extrajudicial killings in Davao City and the DDS.
“I am now ready to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” Lascañas said.
“I regret what I did and I know I have to answer for all my misdeeds before the people, the law, and before God.”
In his opening statement, Sen. Panilo Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs investigating the DDS, advised the retired cop to show proof of allegations that Duterte indeed ordered killings in Davao City.
“Ang maipapayo ko (sa iyo), kung ang layunin ng iyong extrajudicial confession ay mapanagot si Duterte, marapat lamang na bukod sa iyong salaysay ay may maipakita ka pang ebidensya,” Lacson said.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, however, said Lascañas’ testimony is “fabricated” and “unacceptable.”
He had denied the existence of DDS, Abella said.
“Now, the same retired police officer would return to the Senate to expose the DDS. [He] has proven himself to be a polluted source and perjured witness,” the Malacañang official said.
Sen. Leila de Lima, detained at the Custodial Center of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame, Quezon City for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade, however, believes his testimony will play a “crucial” role in ferreting out the truth.
“The Filipino people need to know the truth. They deserve to know if, indeed, a murderer is now occupying the most powerful position in the national government. I have great faith they can handle the truth. We need to know the truth. No matter how painful it may be. No matter how ugly it may be,” de Lima ended./PN
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