Davao raps vs Lascañas a harassment, says Trillanes

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday cried foul over murder charges filed by Davao City prosecutors against self-confessed death squad subleader Arturo Lascañas, a retired police officer.

The senator, who has been in contact with Lascañas who accuses President Rodrigo Duterte of being behind extrajudicial killings in Davao City, criticized members of the Department of Justice for not granting the former cop due process after he admitted having a hand in the killing of broadcaster Jun Pala.

The new cases against Lascañas includes charges of attempted murder after he came out in public and appeared at a Senate hearing to admit being part of the so-called Davao Death Squad, which Duterte allegedly formed in his early days as mayor.

"After a hearing conducted by the Senate on Lascañas' admissions, Duterte allies were quick to dismiss his testimony and conclude that he is not credible. And now, the Davao City prosecutor's office is filing charges against him based on that same testimony," Trillanes said in a statement.

"Worse, the people behind this did not even allow the case to go through due process by not letting Lascañas submit his counter affidavit allegedly because of returned subpoenas," the senator added.

An outspoken critic of Duterte, Trillanes said the prosecutors could have notified the Free Legal Assistance Group, which took Lascañas as client when he made the public confession in February.

The senator also questioned why the murder charges were filed when Lascañas said he was not the one involved in the killing of the broadcaster. The cases, he said, were after all based on the retired cop's Senate testimony.

"According to his testimony, Lascañas was only part of those who planned the assassination of Jun Pala. In which case, his co-conspirators, particularly, Rodrigo Duterte, Sonny Buenaventura and Jim Tan should've been charged as well," Trillanes  said.

Duterte was city mayor, congressman and vice mayor of Davao City for more than two decades before he was elected president last year.

"This is a clear case of legal harassment and abuse of authority by the Duterte administration, meant to silence Lascañas and prevent him from testifying against Duterte in any legal forum," he added.

In February, Lascañas, aided by lawyers from FLAG, surfaced and retracted his denials of his involvement in spate of Davao City killings issued at previous Senate inquiries. Lascañas accused Duterte of ordering the death of Pala, who was critical of his strongman approach in the city.

Lascañas' claims largely corroborated the testimonies of confessed hitman Edgar Matobato before the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Matobato also claimed Duterte ordered the killing of the journalist.

On Sept. 6, 2003, Jun was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle while walking home from work.

Lascañas said it took the death squad three attempts between 2002 and 2003 before the hired guns were able to kill radio personality. Lascañas said he was first tapped by fellow cop Sonny Buenaventura to wipe out Pala for P3 million, while SP01 Jim Tan supplied him with help. — Rosette Adel