Manila: A warrant has been issued by a Davao City court for the arrest of Edgar Matobato one of the leaders of the Davao Death Squad. Matobato is a self-proclaimed henchman of former mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte.
Judge Dorothy Gonzaga of the Panabo City Regional Trial Court ordered the arrest of Matobato and another suspect Sonny Custodio for the 2002 abduction and murder of Sali Makdum, a businessman who was accused of being a terrorist.
Matobato and Custodio were arrested more than two months after Makdum’s partner, Marison Marquez, filed formal charges against them.
Earlier, Matobato, 57, a former volunteer of the Army-led militia, the CAFGU, had admitted during a Senate hearing that he was behind the abduction of Makdum whose body was buried in an abandoned mine in Samal Island in Davao Del Norte.
Kidnapping and murder is an unbailable offence under the country’s laws.
In December, Matobato had accused President Duterte of organising the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS) during the early 1990s as a means to curb criminality and contain the communist insurgency.
Arturo Lascanas, a former policeman, who initially denied being part of the DDS, later admitted his involvement in the killings which were carried out ostensibly on the orders of Duterte.
Senator Panfilo Lacson had challenged the credibility of Matobato as a witness in the killings by the DDS.
Lacson said questions remain on the testimony of Matobato, particularly concerning the murder of Makdum who was killed inside a mining shaft.
“There was no record of the Makdum killing,” Lacson said.
The Army also said that is has no record of Matobato in its roster.
The statements were given by Matobato during a Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee hearing on extrajudicial killings involving recent drug-related killings. The panel is headed by Senator Leila de Lima.
