Matobato not immune from suit —Gordon

Senator Richard Gordon on Friday said confessed hitman and member of the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS) Edgar Matobato was not immune from suit, and President Rodrigo Duterte himself could file charges against him.

In a television interview, Gordon said Matobato was “accountable” for the statements he made in the ongoing Senate inquiry on drug-related killings.

“I told him, kapag may sasabihin ka, pwedeng gamitin sa husgado ‘yan kaya mag-ingat ka. Magsabi ka ng totoo. He’s not immune,” Gordon said.

Gordon is the new chair of the Senate justice committee conducting the investigation, after Senator Leila de Lima was ousted by her colleagues from the post.

It was De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, who presented Matobato as a witness last week in her capacity then as committee chair.

She said last week that she would request legislative immunity for Matobato once he executed a judicial affidavit of his testimony.

De Lima argued that the legislative immunity "will provide him a sufficient freedom of will and volition conducive to an uninhibited, robust, and wide-open investigation" of the justice committee.

Matobato claimed that Duterte ordered the killings attributed to the DDS during the latter’s term as mayor of Davao City.

Asked whether Duterte can sue Matobato over his accusations, Gordon said: “yes.”

“You go there at your own peril. When you say something against somebody, you have to be accountable for that. You cannot just bask in the righteousness, so to speak,” Gordon said.

Duterte, a lawyer and former prosecutor, earlier cautioned that lying under oath was a crime, when asked to comment about Matobato’s testimony.

Senator Gordon meanwhile said he noticed several inconsistencies in Matobato’s statements during the resumption of the Senate inquiry Thursday.

“The way I look at him, here’s a guy who wanted recognition or a little bit of vengeance...But whether he did all the killings, even he was inconsistent,” Gordon said.

Matobato earlier said he joined the DDS because he wanted justice for his father who was beheaded in front of him by suspected communist rebels.

Gordon said they intend to wrap-up the Senate inquiry on drug-related killings in three to four hearings. The next hearing is scheduled on September 28. —NB, GMA News