MALACAÑANG on Thursday vehemently denied that President Rodrigo Duterte is "capable" of giving an order to kill criminals in Davao City when he was the then city mayor.
"Do I think he (Duterte) is capable? No. No, I don't think he is capable of giving directive like that," Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press conference, when asked if he thinks the President has the capability of ordering a vigilante group to kill supposed criminals in the city.
"He was investigated by the Commission on Human Right before, when the President was still the mayor. And there's no charge [filed against him]. There's no direct evidence," he added.
Andanar made the statement as an alleged former member of the Davao Death Squad surfaced Thursday at a Senate probe led by Senator Leila de Lima to divulge how Duterte had instructed the group to execute people.
The communications chief refused to react further on the ongoing Senate investigation and said that the Palace would first await the wrap up of the inquiry before issuing a formal statement.
"Let's just wait the entirety, the summary of what would be the statement of Senator [De Lima's] witness," Andanar said.
"Afterwards, I will also consult the [Justice] Secretary [Vitaliano] Aguirre. We will issue a comprehensive statement. We just have to first wait the hearing to adjourn," he added.
Despite the allegations hurdling Duterte, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the public should maintain "a sense of sobriety and a sense of objectivity."
"I mean, after all, people do make statements everyday and while this person may sound credible, it is imperative that each and everyone of us properly weighed whatever he said," Abella said.
Abella also assured that the President would continue to fulfill his job to curb criminality in the country.
"The platform is the desire to have a peaceful, crime-free, corruption-free nation. And that is not affected. That condition is not changed. And the President continues to exercise political will," the presidential spokesperson said.
These statements came after Edgar Matobato, who claimed to be a former member of DDS, appeared in the senate hearing on EJK to stand as a witness to prove the existence of DDS in Davao City, which is allegedly the root cause of the rampant killings of individuals involved in criminal activities and illegal drug trade in the city.
He testified that Duterte had allegedly ordered him to execute suspected criminals, his political opponents including journalist Jun Pala, the bombing of mosques and also to kill Muslims when he was still the Davao City Mayor. (Sunnex)