Lascañas on leaving PHL for safety: How will I testify if I’m dead?

Retired Davao City cop and confessed hitman Arturo Lascañas has refused to say when he will return to the country, but vowed to testify against President Rodrigo Duterte even before the International Criminal Court (ICC) if need be.

In a Skype interview with GMA News’ Raffy Tima, Lascañas said he left for Singapore earlier this month for his own safety.

“Hindi po ibig sabihin na tatakasan ko yung mga sinabi ko sa Senate,” Lascañas said in the interview, which aired on GMA News TV's Balitanghali on Thursday.

“Ang una kong ano po is, isa po talaga yung seguridad ko. Paano ako maka-testify kung patay na ako?” he said.

In February, Lascañas retracted his earlier statements made before the Senate that the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS) does not exist.

He said the death squad in fact exists and that the group was responsible for several killings in Davao City upon the orders of Duterte, then city mayor. He said Duterte paid up to P100,000 per drug suspect killed.

The Balitanghali report said Lascañas could not say when he is returning back to the Philippines.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier said that Lascañas presented to Immigration officers a plane ticket which indicated April 22 as his return date to Manila.

While in Singapore, Lascañas said he is preparing to testify anew against Duterte, even before the ICC if and when a case is filed against the President.

Lascañas also said some DDS members have indicated that they also want to testify against Duterte.

“Sa sarili ko pong ano, eh nasabi ko na po lahat. Pero kung may lalabas na bago na mga dati kong kasamahan and then ma-refresh yung memory ko na hindi ko nasabi, baka po may madagdag po ako,” he said.

“Meron mga dati kong kasamahan, meron silang siyempre pangamba din sa buhay nila and then, nagpahiwatig na lalabas, pero sa ngayon po wala po akong contact,” Lascañas added.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Senate public order committee which conducted an inquiry into Lascañas’ allegations against Duterte, earlier said that the retired cop’s claims are “clearly meant to destabilize” the administration. — Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/RSJ, GMA News