Former Senator Leila de Lima appeared before the ninth joint Committee hearing on Tuesday, October 22, to reveal the results of the 2009 Commission on Human Rights (CHR) investigation on the Davao Death Squad (DDS) killings.
As a reference point, the former Senator described former President Rodrigo Duterte’s DDS operation and implementation as the template for the war on drugs. She recalled former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma’s revelation, stating that the drug war was patterned after the Davao Model.
De Lima argued that way before the Davao Model, Duterte’s DDS was operational from 1988 to 1998, and 2000 to 2016. In a comprehensive presentation, the former Senator detailed the events that led to the organization's operations.
DDS Operations
“The history of the DDS can be divided into two: the period from 1988 to 1998, and the period from 2001 to 2016. So, may break po. The break between these two periods coincides with then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s hiatus as mayor of Davao City, when he was elected as Congressman instead of Mayor in 1998 due to the three-term limit,” she said.
The 2009 CHR investigation indicated that from the first period of the DDS from 1998 to 2000, assassins were paid Php 15,000 per victim. Assassins consisted of rebel returnees, aside from the active duty policemen who were their handlers.
De Lima also stressed that the break between the two periods coincides with Duterte’s hiatus when he was elected as Congressman instead of Mayor in 1998, due to the three-term limit.
All those involved with the said crimes had safe houses located inside the NAPOLCOM compound in Barangay San Pedro in Davao City. It was there, that the summary execution of targeted victims was conducted. De Lima stated that it was there where Duterte would sometimes personally give out the kill orders and reward money to assassins.
Duterte’s Return as Mayor
Duterte was re-elected as the Mayor of Davao in 2001. The CHR investigation recalled that the DDS was upgraded into the heinous crimes investigation section or the HCIS.
“The HCIS was an official unit of the DCPO or the Davao City Police Office. The HCIS consists of both active duty PNP and civilians abanteros or hitmen. Most of the hitmen are rebel returnees, they are supervised by PNP handlers. Each handler supervises three members,” de Lima said.
“The task of the PNP handlers is to give orders to his members, as well as be responsible for their protection. According to the CHR witness, he was given a regular monthly salary of Php 5,000. During this time, the reward given to a team for any victim was anywhere from Php 13,000 to Php 15,000; Php 3,000 to Php 5,000 goes to the PNP handler; Php 7,000 to 8,000 was shared among the rebel returnees; and Php 500 to Php 1,000 to civilian informants,” she added.
According to de Lima, the rebel returnees directly received salaries as auxiliary service workers. The funds from their salaries were taken from the Office of the Mayor.
Moreover, functions were specialized within members, designating them to do either office support or fieldwork. She added that a team of one PNP handler and three civilian abanteros were given an average of three targets per month.
The Confessed Hitmen
De Lima said that although some of the CHR findings were unofficial, they were later confirmed by confessed hitmen, Edgar Matobato and Arturo Lascañas. The two went public at the Senate through their executed affidavits in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
When Matobato executed an affidavit, it was filed with the Ombudsman as a criminal complaint against Duterte and other DDS members. However, de Lima said that the case is still pending at the Office of the Ombudsman.
“The most comprehensive account of the DDS, from its founding in 1998 up to 2016 is the affidavit of Arturo Lascañas, which was submitted to the ICC. This affidavit consists of 186 pages of gory details on the sociopathic behavior of Duterte as founder and leader of the DDS,” de Lima highlighted.
She recalled that the 186-page document was serialized in an investigative feature story from Rappler in November 2021. The news company also got hold of his affidavit and the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) third agreement on the limited use of information.
That instrument gave Lascañas limited immunity as a witness in the ICC’s investigation of the Philippines’ war on drugs.
In 2024, Lascañas reiterated the contents of his affidavit in another serialized feature published by Vera Files, called Conversations with Arturo Lascañas.
How it was Patterned
Through all the revelations, de Lima said that the DDS organization was the main pattern of the former administration’s war on drugs.
From 1988 to 1998, the DDS was constituted as the Anti-Crime Task Force of the then Mayor Duterte. The members were paid a great sum, ranging from Php 10,000 to Php 20,000 for ordinary victims; and Php 100,000 to Php 1,000,000 per “special project killings,” depending on the target’s status.
Forced multipliers or civilian hitmen were also given Php 3,000 to Php 5,000 per victim.
“The DDS logistics and finances came from this order or intel fund of then Mayor Duterte. This includes weekly gas allowance, monthly cash allowance, and Christmas cash gifts,” de Lima said.
De Lima concluded that the Davao Model replicated the DDS model.
“You can never tell with the future, kung ano man ang resulta ng itong ginagawang imbestigasyon ng Quad Committee, na in the future we will have another tyrant. Another mass killer for a President,” she ended.
