CHR forms new team to probe Davao Death Squad killings

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has formed another team to probe the alleged extrajudicial killings carried out by the Davao Death Squad (DDS) linked to President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Mayroon na kasing binuo na bagong team bukod doon sa team na lumakad at gumalaw sa kaso noong nakaraang taon," Atty. Jacqueline de Guia told GMA News.

De Guia said the new team will pursue all leads based on the revelations of retired Davao City policeman Arturo Lascañans.

"Ipu-pursue lahat ng leads na nag-arise kasama na 'yung testimonya ni retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas," she said.

In the CHR's resolution released in June 2012, it concluded that "in the period of 2005-2009 there was a systematic practice of extrajudicial killings attributable to a vigilante group or gorups dubbed in the media as the Davao Death Squad."

The resolution added that there was was a "systematic failure on the part of local officials to conduct any meaningful investigation into [the] said killings."

Among the leads that will be probed by the new CHR team was Lascañas' claim on the DDS' killing of former soldier Gaudencio "Jun" Bersabal in 1997.

In October 2016, Lascañas denied before the Senate justice committee the existence of the DDS and belied the supposed involvement of Duterte in killings in Davao City during his term as mayor.

The retired cop resurfaced last February 20 with a retraction, claiming that Duterte paid their group up to P100,000 for each kill. He alleged that Duterte ordered the killing of drug suspects and his enemies, including journalist Jun Pala.

During the same press conference, Lascañas said that he and Edgar Matobato had been investigated by the CHR over the killing of Bersabal.

Meanwhile, the family of Bersabal had said that they were not convinced that Duterte ordered the former soldier's killing.

Lascañas appeared at the hearing of the Senate public order committee on Monday and repeated his allegations of the involvement of Duterte and his son, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, in the killings carried out by the DDS.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/602251/news/nation/duterte-no-need-to-create-a-dds-i-have-the-pnp

On Tuesday, Duterte said he did not need to create a death squad against criminals.

Duterte said the DDS was formed during the time of late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to combat New People's Army assasins.

Meanwhile, Davao City police chief Senior Superintendent Michael John Dubria told GMA News that they will also look into the allegations of Lascañas.

Dubria, however, admitted that the city police will have a hard time to follow-up leads based on Lascañas' allegations because years have passed since the alleged killings happened.

The city police chief said among the allegations made by Lascañas that will be looked into is the killing of an alleged dance instructor of Duterte's sister, Jocelyn. The body was supposedly buried at the Laud quarry.

However, Dubria said that it had been circulating in the city that the dance instructor was actually alive. —reports from Victoria Tulad and Sandra Aguinaldo/ALG, GMA News