HINIKAYAT ng human rights group na KARAPATAN ang Commission on Human Rights (CHR) at ang mga human rights committee ng House of Representatives at Senado na magsagawa ng masusing imbestigasyon kaugnay sa mga rebelasyon ng whistleblowers na sina Arturo Lascañas at Edgar Matobato na ang mga nasa likod ng mga patayan sa Davao City ay sina dating president Rodrigo Duterte, kanyang anak na si Vice President Sara at cronies na sina Sens. Ronald dela Rosa at Christopher “Bong” Go at iba pang nasa inner circle ng dating pangulo sa pamamagitan ng tinaguriang Davao Death Squad (DDS).
Anang grupo, hindi lang isinangkot ng whistleblowers ang pangkat ni Duterte sa DDS kundi tinukoy ang dating pangulo bilang isa sa pinakamalaking drug lord sa bansa na agresibong ginamit ang drug war bilang pagtatakip sa sarili at isang oportunidad para walisin ang mga karibal sa illegal drugs trade.
“Not only have the whistleblowers implicated Duterte’s group in the DDS killings. They have pinpointed Rodrigo Duterte as one of, if not the biggest, drug lord in the country who used his aggressive anti-drugs war as a convenient cover and an opportunity to eliminate rival drug kingpins,” sabi ng KARAPATAN sa isang kalatas.
Giit ng grupo, panahon na upang seryosong busisiin sa bansa ang mga pagsisiwalat para na rin sa kapakanan ng libu-libong biktima ng patayan na dapat mabigyan ng hustisya at mapanagot ang mga responsible sa krimen.
“It is high time that these revelations not only be seriously investigated through Philippine domestic mechanisms. For the sake of the victims, who number in the tens of thousands, the investigations must exact justice and accountability from the perpetrators. Duterte and his coterie of murderers and drug lords must be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law,” ayon sa KARAPATAN.
Hindi naman anila bago ang mga ibinulgar na isyu, sa katunayan, ay noon pang 2005 ay isiniwalat na ni noo’y CHR chairperson Leila de Lima ang mga aktibidad ng death squad batay sa mga sinumpaang salaysay ng mga dating operatiba ng DDS.
Paliwanag ng grupo, noon pa man ay may mga nahukay ng bungo at kalansay ng mga biktima sa Laud Quarry mass graves sa Davao City ngunit walang kinahinatnan ang imbestigasyon.
“As far back as 2005, when Leila de Lima chaired the Commission on Human Rights, former DDS operatives had come forward and executed sworn statements detailing the structure and workings of the death squad. The existence of the Laud quarry mass graves in Davao City for victims of DDS killings had already been exposed, and investigators had in fact unearthed human skeletal remains from the quarry. But nothing much came out of these investigations that stretched on until the term of the Chito Gascon-led CHR,” sabi ng KARAPATAN.
Nang maluklok anila sa Malakanyang si Duterte ay ginawa niya ang lahat para maipakulong si De Lima sa gawa-gawang kaso habang si dating justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II ay ibinasura ang natuklasang mga kalansay ng tao sa quarry at sinabing mula ito sa mga pinatay noong panahon ng Hapon.
Giit ng KARAPATAN, nasa mandato ng CHR at human rights committees ng Kongreso na alamin ang puno’t dulo ng DDS at iba pang patayan bunsod ng drug war mula naging alkalde hanggang naging pangulo si Duterte.
“Lascañas and Matobato, having been higher up in the DDS hierarchy, provided personal knowledge and information which deserve deeper scrutiny. KARAPATAN asserts that with these whistleblowers reiterating their revelations in a number of media interviews, the CHR and the congressional human rights committees must fulfill their mandates by finally getting to the bottom of the DDS and other drug war-related killings since Duterte was Davao City mayor up to the time he became president,” sabi ng KARAPATAN.
“They owe this to the thousands of victims who have long been seeking justice and accountability.” (ROSE NOVENARIO)