The Lascañas Affidavit ‘I killed for Duterte’
The Lascañas Affidavit ‘I killed for Duterte’
Graphics by Emil Mercado/Rappler
Arturo Lascañas’ disclosures to the International Criminal Court jibe with information that Rappler previously obtained pertaining to alleged murders by the Davao Death Squad and the alleged links of President Duterte to suspected drug personalities
Rappler Investigative Team
Rodrigo Duterte gave orders or the go-signal to kill, based on Rappler’s count, at least 100 individuals – including a child who just happened to be with a parent who had been targeted – during his time as Davao City mayor and until 2015, just before he ran for the presidency, one of his self-confessed gunmen revealed.
In a 186-page affidavit accepted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation into state-sponsored killings under Duterte, former cop Arturo “Arthur” Lascañas also said a number of the killings targeted individuals they feared could reveal the drug trade of businessman Michael Yang, coddled by Duterte.
The ICC probe involving a Philippine president is the first in the country’s history, and the court’s acceptance of Lascañas’ affidavit is unprecedented.
Lascañas, a Davao City cop for nearly 35 years and an original member of the notorious Davao Death Squad (DDS, originally Duterte Death Squad), told the ICC that the kill orders were either given directly by “Superman” – their code name for Duterte – or through the latter’s trusted close-in aides.
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