Lascañas says DDS men also hired themselves out as contract killers

Former police officer Arturo Lascañas told television host and economist Solita Monsod during Monday's episode of "Bawal Ang Pasaway Kay Mareng Winnie" that, aside from being a member of the Davao Death Squad, he and his companions also moonlighted as contract killers.

Lascañas recounted how they were allegedly employed to kill a person named Chua, because the employer believed Chua had had the employer's brother killed.

The employer thus wanted "swift justice" as payback.

Being police officers, Lascañas and his partners made it appear that their target Chua was a drug dealer, who they then killed in a "legitimate" police operation.

Then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte also allegedly paid Lascañas and his fellows P50,000 for the killing, as this was the bounty the then mayor supposedly paid the death squad for dispatching illegal-drugs targets.

Test

Lascañas  also said that of the 1,000-person Davao City police force, very few of them were actually Davao Death Squad members .

"Sa amin sa Henious [Crimes Unit], ang strength namin, sabihin natin mga 30," recounted the former police officer. "Pero yung sinasama namin sa itong mga summary execution, siguro mga walo lang."

Lascañas  recalled how they tested around eight new police officers to determine if they had what it took to be members of the death squad.

The test would reveal whether these new recruits had the talent or special skill to be part of their team.

They would bring in a victim for summary execution, someone they wrapped in packing tape and who they euphemistically called a "bagahe."

"Ipasaksak namin sa kanila (bagong recruits), ipa-guillotine namin sa kanila. So doon masusukat yung sikmura ng isang pulis," he explained.

Despite the few numbers of police officers in the DDS, Lascañas  said that they did have a lot of hit-men working for them. "Marami yun, kasi mga rebel-returnees yung iba," said Lascañas . "Iba naman may mga kriminal, [pero] pili lang."

Family matters

Lascañas  admitted that his family was completely against his testifying in the Senate, even though they really knew nothing of his business.

"Siyempre concerned. [Pero] wala naman silang alam sa buong pagkatao ko," he explained. "May naririnig na siya (ang asawa ko). Pero hindi na siya nagtanong. Hindi ko rin sinasabi."

He also believed that his public confession had put his family in danger. He claimed that last January, his illegitimate son, a college student, was waylayed.

He had no firm information, but Lascañas  believed that his fellow police officers in the death squad were behind the attack on his son.

Nevertheless, he had some heartfelt advice for his former comrades. "Sana pagisip-isipan na hindi po ultimate solution ang pagpatay. Dahil ito, may repercussion ito, hindi lang sa batas ng tao, pati sa batas ng Diyos." — DVM, GMA News