Gordon: No proof of Davao Death Squad existence

There was no proof to establish that the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS) exists and that it killed people on President Rodrigo Duterte’s orders, Senator Richard Gordon said Monday.

Gordon is the chairman of the Senate justice committee, which will release this week its report on the investigation on the rampant extrajudicial killings and summary executions.

“Walang na-prove eh,” Gordon told reporters in an interview.

Asked whether Duterte was “safe,” Gordon said: “For the moment. That is my report. Walang na-prove eh.”

Duterte was tagged by confessed hitman Edgar Matobato to the killings in Davao City. Matobato claimed he was a member of the DDS and that he killed at least 50 people.

Gordon said there have been extrajudicial killings even before Duterte assumed the presidency.

“Definitely, maraming patayan. To be fair, maraming patayan noong araw pa na hindi naso-solve, ‘yan ang mas malaking problema,” Gordon pointed out. “Nagiging uso lang dahil maingay ang Presidente.”

Several policemen tagged as members of the death squad had appeared at the Senate in one of the committee's hearings last month.

The police officers denied that they are members of the death squad and testified that there was no such group.

Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa, who had served as Davao City police chief, also denied the existence of the death squad.

He said the name of the group was coined by members of the local media.

"Premature"

Senator Leila de Lima, who sought the probe on drug-related killings, said it was “premature” to conclude the proceedings.

The investigation was terminated after six hearings.

“That’s why hindi ko gusto na meron na tayong termination of proceedings. To me, it’s still premature,” De Lima said.

“Kasi bakit hindi na papakinggan yung ibang CHR witnesses, any conclusion that the killings is not state-sponsored to me would also be premature,” the senator added.

Gordon refused to hear the testimonies of the witnesses under the protection of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), after one of its commissioners called him a “coward” in handling the investigation. —ALG/KBK, GMA News