SENATOR Panfilo Lacson on Monday said it may be interesting to find out who are spending for the trips and accommodations of retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas and his family who are reportedly staying in Singapore.
In a text message to reporters, Lacson said Lascañas’ family left for Singapore even before he testified at the Senate hearing on March 6.
Another self-confessed hitman of the alleged Davao Death Squad, Lascañas testified during the Senate hearing that President Rodrigo Duterte paid his group from P20,000 to P100,000 depending on the status of the target.
He also told the Senate public committee chaired by Lacson that Duterte, then Davao City mayor, created the DDS to execute suspected criminals, personal enemies and political opponents. He corroborated the earlier testimony of Edgar Matobato, who also claimed to be a hitman of DDS, that Duterte sanctioned the killings.
Lacson said Lascañas’ testifying against the President could be his personal reason for leaving the country and that of his family.
“Don’t you know that his family first left for Singapore even before he testified for the second time sa Senate? “ Lacson said.
“Kung sino gumastos dun, eh di malamang ‘yun din nag sponsor sa kanya,” he added. [Whoever spent for that trip is the same person who sponsored him].
Lascañas first appeared in the Senate in a press conference organized by Senator Antonio Trillanes, a staunch critic of the President in the Senate.
The former policemen, who was reportedly to be the “closest” to Duterte, was assisted by lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group.
Accordng to Lascañas, he came out in the open because his conscience has been bothering him. He also said he is ready to die as a consequence of telling the truth about the killings perpetrated the DDS on orders of Duterte.
Lascañas’ statements were a turnaround of his earlier testimony in the Senate where he contradicted the statements of Matobato on the DDS. He insisted that the vigilante-like group was merely a “media creation” and insisted that the DDS did not exist.
Lacson told reporters that contrary to reports that Lascañas left quietly, the self-confessed DDS hitman was accompanied by a news reporter.
