Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, on Thursday raised the possibility that the alleged ex-Davao Death Squad member who testified in the Senate was part of the Liberal Party’s (LP) plot to oust the president.
“Are you here because you want people to know the truth or is this part of LP’s Plan B to return to Malacanang?” Cayetano asked the witness in Filipino during the Senate inquiry into extrajudicial killings.
A certain Edgar Matobato, 57, claimed that the former mayor recruited him as a member of the Lambada Boys which eventually became known as the DDS, tasked to kill criminals in Davao City from 1988 to 2013.
Matobato recalled how the group was ordered by Duterte himself to kill criminals and non-criminals alike citing the killing of bodyguards of then mayoral candidate Prospero Nograles who ran against his daughter, Sara Duterte in 2010, a certain Richard King who was a rival of incumbent Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte over a woman; radio reporter and critic of Duterte, Jun Pala; and an unnamed fixer who worked at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) among others.
Cayetano asked Matobato if his reason for testifying was intended for good or if he merely wanted the President to be impeached so that Vice President and LP member Maria Leonoro “Leni” Robredo could take over.
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