MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Leila de Lima said on Monday that the sudden appearance of SPO3 Arthur Lascañas bolsters claims made by supposed hitman Edgar Matobato at Senate hearings that she presided over last year.
Earlier, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) lawyers Alexander Padilla, Arno Sanidad and Jose Manuel Diokno presented Lascañas, who said that he had actually been involved in summary killings in Davao City.
"Totoo po ang existence ng Davao Death Squad," Lascañas said in a televised press conference.
"Totoo ang mga sinabi ni Mr. Matobato. Nilalitlait nila si Mr. Matobato, kinuwestyon nila yung credibility, ako rin nilait-lait rin nila ako for producing Mr. Matobato and here comes this very very explosive development from Mr. Lascañas," De Lima said.
De Lima said that it might be because of a guilty conscience that Lascañas, who last year denied the existence of the Davao Death Squad vigilante group, came forward.
"Hindi na daw kaya ng kunsensya. Yun ho ang tingin ko sa development na 'yan," De Lima said.
Matobato claimed last September that President Rodrigo Duterte formed the DDS while mayor of Davao City and ordered the group to kill mostly suspected criminals.
President Duterte, who was elected on a campaign promise to be tough on crime and drugs, has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that the DDS was a political tool used by his rivals.
"Nung lumabas po si Lascañas ay talagang nagulat kami. It's such a hair-raising thing," De Lima said in a televised ambush interview at the Senate compound in Pasay City.
She added that she did not expect Lascañas, the supposed leader of the DDS to show himself, and called the event "explosive."
READ: Davao Death Squad 'leader' resurfaces, retracts denials
De Lima said that she had to move a press conference scheduled at 11 a.m. to Tuesday after she was advised that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV would hold one at 10 a.m.
She added that she asked Trillanes to give way because she wanted to talk about drug cases that the government has filed against her and that she claims are politically motivated.
"Yung balik po sa akin as relayed to me, hindi na po puwedeng ma-cancel ni Senator Trillanes yung presscon na yun kasi it's really something big daw yung ipapasabog," De Lima said.
De Lima said that any committee able to do so should resume the investigations into the killings. Sen. Richard Gordon, who handled proceedings after De Lima was deposed as Justice committee chairperson, has already closed the investigation into supposed extrajudicial killings.
He said the committee had not found evidence of the state backing the killings of drug suspects.
"Hindi po ito kailangan ipag-balewala nanaman, dahil nga ho on it's face, corroborative yung mga sinabi ni Lascañas," De Lima said.
READ: Matobato files murder, crimes vs humanity raps vs Rody | Duterte denies involvement in Davao death squad