Senators yesterday told retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas to back up his claims against President Duterte with solid proof and present other witnesses who would corroborate his testimony before the Senate public order and dangerous drugs committee.
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson asserted this yesterday to Lascañas who finally testified before the Senate and apologized to the senators for lying before the panel when he first denied the existence of the infamous Davao death squad.
“I can only advise you SPO3 Lascañas, if the objective of your extra judicial confession is to make sure President Rodrigo Duterte and other personalities would be hold liable under the law, it would be best if you present other evidence apart from your statement,” said Lacson who chairs the public order committee.
“If you have none, you would only waste the time of the people here because your testimony and our hearing today would all be for nothing especially against the people you are incriminating in your testimony,” the senator said.
Lascañas surfaced at the Senate yesterday to reiterate that his decision to recant his earlier testimony was to reveal the “whole truth” about Duterte’s liquidation squad which he formed in Davao City when he was still the mayor.
But senators could not understand why Lascañas claimed his decision was borne out of his “spiritual renewal” sometime in July or September 2015, but still decided to lie before the Senate at the time the panel investigated Edgar Matobato’s testimony in October 3, 2016.
Matobato appeared before the joint investigation of the Senate committees on justice and human rights and public order on the rampant extra judicial killings that occurred during Duterte’s intensive war on illegal drugs and confessed to being a hired hitman of the former mayor’s death squad.
“Something doesn’t add up…Your testimony before should have gone first before your testimony here before the Senate.
If you have given everything to God, then why the delay on your subsequent actions? I am confused at your actions,” Lacson pointed out.
But Lascañas told senators his primary objective was to “clear his conscience because I can’t carry this to the grave.” He also said he feared for the lives of his loved ones. The former Davao police said he killed around 200 to 300 persons during his career, most of which were part of the operations of the DDS.
Lascañas also said their former boss SPO4 Sonny Buenaventura, whom he said was a close ally of Duterte, had advised him and other police officials whom Matobato implicated in the extrajudicial killings, to deny everything.
But Lacson berated the former Davao city police official he could have chosen to confess his crime before Duterte won in the May 2016 presidential elections.
“You could have approached (Senator Grace) Poe or (former Vice President Jejomar) Binay back then… that is true spiritual renewal. You’ve killed hundreds, and you are trying to turn back again to God… so something doesn’t add up,” the senator said. (MARIO CASAYURAN)