Former senator Leila de Lima echoed the confessed hitman’s statements on the fight against the killing of over 20,000 Filipinos during the onset of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs campaign.
In an X post on Monday, the former senator commended former hitman of the alleged Davao Death Squad (DDS), Edgar Matobato, on his courage to detail how people were targeted and killed under former Davao City mayor and former president Duterte.
“It takes extraordinary resolve to confess one's crimes to the world, especially to bring light to the horrible crimes of those more powerful than them. We can learn from this ex-hitman's courage and avowal to atone for his crimes,” de Lima said, referencing an article published by a US media outlet.
De Lima lamented the “sad reality” most Filipinos have, stating how they don't realize its gravity.
“It's a sad reality that most Filipinos do not yet fully realize the gravity and monstrosity of a Filipino President ordering the killing of more than 20,000 of his fellow Filipinos, and his continued impunity,” she said.
It takes extraordinary resolve to confess one's crimes to the world, especially to bring light to the horrible crimes of those more powerful than them. We can learn from this ex-hitman's courage and avowal to atone for his crimes. Here's Edgar Matobato's journey to safety as told…
— Leila de Lima (@AttyLeiladeLima) January 6, 2025
In the ways that Matobato detailed the various methods to kill, the woman included in the hit list, whom he was ordered to shoot dead, would later help arrange his escape and public confession.
In 2009, de Lima visited the Laud quarry in Barangay Ma-a with her team, to dig up human bones from the suspected “mass grave” inside the firing range—a shred of evidence they aimed to be used in the case against the DDS. This was part of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) inquiry during the former’s term as its chairperson.
Before fleeing from the Philippines, Matobato had been in hiding for a decade.
In previous years, he had confessed to his crimes as a member of the said death squad, orchestrated by then-Davao City Mayor Duterte. After the demise of over a thousand individuals, the former hitman said that he was ready to face the consequences. He expressed willingness to cooperate in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation, hoping that his testimony would be used to hold his former boss to account.
During the House Quad Committee’s probe on illegal drugs and extrajudicial killings, former PCSO general manager Royina Garma bared that the existence of DDS is an open secret among police officers, adding that operations were conducted in secret.
The CHR’s 2009 investigation on the DDS killings traces its origins from 1988 to 1998 and 2000 to 2016. Additionally, de Lima detailed its origins and operations, citing the confessions and executed affidavits from Matobato and his former boss Arturo Lascañas. With that in mind, de Lima said that the DDS organization was the main pattern of Duterte’s war on drugs.
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said on Tuesday, that Malacañang has no connection with Matobato; adding that they cannot control the latter if he intends to testify before the ICC.
