What’s this new killing allegation vs ex-president Rodrigo Duterte all about?

More witnesses have alleged that former president Rodrigo Duterte is involved in killings.

During the House mega-panel’s hearing on Thursday, August 22, two persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) alleged that Duterte is involved in the killing of three alleged Chinese drug lords in Davao City in 2016.

PDLs Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando “Andy” Magdadaro claimed during the hearing that Duterte is involved in the killings of Chu Kin Tung, alias Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, aka Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping, who were detained at the maximum security facility of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte.

Aside from verbally accusing Duterte, the two put on record their accusations through affidavits. Tan has been convicted of violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, while Magdadaro for murder and illegal possession of firearms. They were both detained at the Davao prison facility.

Lawyer Salvador Panelo, Duterte’s former spokesperson, said Duterte’s “enemies” are using “convicted felons” to link the former president to the killings, adding that the witnesses “have nothing to lose since they are jailed for life.”

“Obviously, they are making those statements for a consideration. If it is true as they say that they killed the three Chinese in exchange for money and release from prison, necessarily they can lie about FPRRD’s (former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte) alleged link to the murders for the same consideration of money and freedom coming from those who want to destroy the Dutertes,” Panelo told Rappler.

When Duterte was still president, however, some of the questions that centered on his rivals used PDLs as witnesses, too. The best example was former senator Leila de Lima’s case, where PDLs were used to pin the opposition figure. Over 10 witnesses, including PDLs, later retracted their statements.

“Mr. Duterte, how do you feel that PDLs are being used against you to testify, just like what you did to me before? Is that karma or destiny’s payback?” De Lima said before in Filipino.

The House mega-panel, also known as the “quad committee,” had been formed earlier this month to probe the links among illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators, Chinese syndicates, illegal drug trade, and extrajudicial killings in the country. The quad comm is composed of the House panel on dangerous drugs, human rights, public accounts, and public order and safety committees, which had previously and separately probed the issues.

As early as May, the House panel on human rights had started its probe into the drug war killings committed under the former president. It was, however, eight years late because the drug war started in 2016 and had already killed 30,000 people, if vigilante killings are to be included, according to several human rights groups.

Lawmakers moved to invite Duterte to the mega-panel’s next hearing so he can answer the new allegations thrown at him. In June, the House panel on human rights also invited Duterte to attend his hearings on drug war killings. However, Duterte never made an appearance.

What are the new allegations?

In his testimony, Tan said his high school classmate, cop Arthur Narsolis, visited him in July 2016 at the Davao prison facility.

“May ipapatrabaho ako sa iyo at may basbas sa taas. Baka matulungan ka rin namin na makalaya, kakausapin namin ang presidente (Duterte) (I will ask you to do something and this has been approved by the higher-ups. It may help you to be free, we will talk to the president),” Tan said, referring to his conversation with Narsolis.

Tan said he was offered “isang manok” (chicken), a slang which means P1 million per head, in exchange for fellow killing PDLs. He was also told he would be released as a reward. Tan said he accepted it because he believed that Narsolis’ supervisor, then-police colonel and now National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, “could deliver on their promise.”

The target was the three alleged Chinese drug lords. Tan said he later tapped his fellow PDL, Magdadaro, to join the operation.

“Noong August 13, 2016 ng gabi, pinagsasasaksak namin yung tatlong Chinese druglords. Ginamit ko ang korta sa pagsaksak at si Fernando Magdadaro naman ay gumamit ng bente nuwebe (balisong) sa pagsaksak (On the evening of August 13, 2016, we stabbed the three Chinese druglords. I used a switchblade to stab, while Fernando Magdadaro used a folding pocketknife),” Tan said in his affidavit seen by Rappler.

In a separate affidavit, Magdadaro supplemented Tan’s allegations.

Tan further alleged in his affidavit that he heard Gerardo Padilla, then-Davao prison acting chief, talking to a person over the phone.

“Alam ko na ang kausap ni Superintendent Padilla ay si Presidente Duterte dahil pamilyar ko ang boses niya…. Pagkatapos ng tawag, sabi ni Superintendent Padilla sa mga kasamahan nya doon, ‘Tumawag si Presidente, nag-congrats sa akin.’ Dahil sa sinabing ito ni Superentindent Padilla kaya lalo akong napaniwala na ang tumawag sa kanya ay si Presidente Duterte,” Tan explained.

(I know that Padilla talked to President Duterte because I am familiar with the latter’s voice. After the call, Padilla told his colleagues, “The President called, he congratulated me.” Because of this statement by Padilla, I was more convinced that President Duterte indeed called him.)

Tan said the promise that they will be released did not happen. They were later convicted of homicide.

Local media reported the incident in 2016, noting that the Chinese had an altercation with the PDLs “over a previous drug deal” inside the prison.

Trend continues

The allegation that the former president is involved in killings is not new.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently probing into the alleged killings committed by the so-called Davao Death Squad when Duterte was still the Davao City mayor and the deaths under the drug war he launched when he was the chief executive.

In 2016, Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed DDS member, claimed that Duterte created the group and tapped them to execute suspects and criminals in the city. Another self-confessed hitman and former DDS member, Arturo Lascañas, corroborated this and said in his affidavit submitted to the ICC that they were given a “kill, kill, kill” order by Duterte himself. The former DDS member has been granted limited immunity by the ICC.

There has been a trend in the congressional hearings. The House has been probing issues that either implicate the former president himself, his family, or his allies.

Aside from the drug war, the House also probes into alleged Chinese syndicates and illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators in the country. In these hearings, Duterte’s former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was implicated due to his alleged ties to a Pampanga POGO. He was cited in contempt and was ordered detained by the House on August 22.

The House probe into illegal drugs in the country also implicated Duterte’s own son, Davao 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband Mans Carpio, and Duterte’s former economic adviser Michael Yang due to their alleged involvement in illegal drug importation. Yang was also implicated due to his alleged ties with the owner of a Pampanga warehouse, where multi-billion pesos worth of shabu was seized.

Yang has never appeared in the hearings so he was also cited in contempt and was ordered detained. He’s out of the country, however, so the authorities have yet to implement the arrest order.

There’s also a visible trend in the witnesses that the lower chamber has been inviting so far. The House has invited the families of the drug war victims and even former senator Leila de Lima, Duterte’s nemesis, who previously probed into the allegations against Duterte during her time as Commission on Human Rights chairperson.

Former anti-drug cop Eduardo Acierto spoke in one of the hearings to pin Yang anew to the illegal drug trade. The former cop revealed during Duterte-time that Yang was allegedly involved with drugs, but Duterte and the Philippine National Police ignored his report.

Just last week, Jimmy Guban, a former intelligence officer of the Bureau of Customs, appeared as a surprise witness during the quad committee’s hearing to pin Duterte, Carpio, and Yang to the illegal drug importation.

And then on Thursday, two PDLs took their time to make new killing allegations against the former president. The investigations are headed in a clear direction. – Rappler.com