Senate panel report: Lascañas’ ‘weak’ testimony has no value

For failing to present any other independent piece of evidence, retired Davao City cop Arturo Lascañas cannot be considered as a credible witness to prove allegations of killings against President Rodrigo Duterte and police officers supposedly involved in the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS), a Senate committee said Monday.

The Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs chaired by Senator Panfilo Lacson released Committee Report No. 97 on May 17, two months after Lascañas made a complete turnaround from an earlier testimony, saying he was “forced” to lie about the Davao City killings then.

“The testimonies of both Matobato and Lascañas are considered weak and did not pass the scrutiny of the respective committees they were presented. The lack of credibility of both witnesses results in the lack of evidentiary value of their testimonies,” the report said referring to another confessed hitman, Edgar Matobato, who earlier testified before the Senate justice committee.

“Aside from the extrajudicial confession, no other piece of evidence was presented to prove the alleged conspiracy. Therefore, their confession has no probative value,” it added.

Lascañas earlier made a public confession, alleging that Duterte was responsible for several killings in Davao City during his term as mayor. He claimed to be a “major player” of the DDS, members of which supposedly got payment of up to P100,000 per target killed.

The committee report said Lascañas’ testimony is “flooded with loopholes and uncertainty on material facts.”

“Apart from the lack of corroborating evidence, his testimony was easily negated and destroyed by established facts, legal presumptions and resolutions of government agencies concerned,” it said.

For one, the committee said it found out that the claim of alleged kidnapping of Patasaja family “has no veracity and is bereft of truth” based on documents obtained from the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Lascañas claimed the DDS was behind the kidnapping and murder of the Patasaja family, whose head was believed to be behind the alleged kidnapping of a certain “Mrs. Abaca.”

On the killing of radio broadcaster Jun Pala, the committee said it will be a “dangerous precedent” to “impute a crime on another individual on the basis of motive.”

Lascañas earlier said he was hired by Duterte to assassinate Pala for P3 million because of the broadcaster’s continued attacks on the then city mayor.

‘No basis’

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who is helping secure the safety of Lascañas, said Lacson has “no basis” to conclude that the retired cop’s testimony is not credible.

“He has no basis to say that Lascañas’ testimony was not credible because he abruptly terminated the investigation after only on hearing,” Trillanes said in a text message.

The committee, meanwhile, also took exception to the publication of the affidavits of Jose Basilio, Crispin Salazar and Roberto Fajardo, who reportedly have also testified on the existence of the DDS.

“To name drop after the inquiry only causes a stir without giving the public the opportunity to see if they will pass the scrutiny of the Committee,” the report said.

“This Committee will not allow itself to be used as an avenue for verbal accusations without a backbone of truth intended not only destroy the reputations of individuals but also promote divisiveness between and among the different political sectors of our society,” it added.

Higher penalty for perjury

The committee also recommended the increase in penalty for the crime of perjury, as well as the amendment of the Rules of the Senate to punish witnesses who give inconsistent testimonies in a Senate inquiry.

Lascañas appeared first in October, denying the allegations of Matobato then, and dismissing the DDS as “hearsay.”

“This inquiry only highlights the fact that there are individuals who have the audacity to spread falsity before this august body that obtains its power from the highest law of the land,” the report said.

“These untruthful statements, given under oath before a Senate Committee, undermine Congress' Constitutionally-granted authority to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation. These attempts to impede the Legislative branch from performing its Constitutional function must therefore be punished accordingly,” it added. — RSJ, GMA News