Former Philippine Police Officer Says President Rodrigo Duterte Order 'Death Squad' Killings

A former police officer recently confessed the reason behind the murders of his two brothers. Arthur Lascañas was racked with guilt and confessed that it was the Philippine Death Squad who killed his brothers, acting on the direct orders of President Rodrigo Duterte before he became the president of the Philippines.

In the news conference on Monday, Arthur Lascañas revealed that President Rodrigo Duterte had sponsored the killings of drug and crime suspects when he was still a mayor of Davao City. According to the New York Times, Arthur Lascañas is the second professed hit man that drops such accusations to President Rodrigo Duterte.

President Rodrigo Duterte had operated a "death squad," giving cash and orders for police and assassins to kill criminals while he was the Mayor of Davao. Arthur Lascañas said he was once involved in the clandestine killings.

Furthermore, Arturo Lascañas admitted that he was one of the ringleaders of the group which began operating when President Rodrigo Duterte became a mayor of Davao in 1988. When Rodrigo Duterte became a president in June, there are at least 3,600 people who have been killed by the vigilantes or the police.

Many human rights groups said that it was the police who ordered the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers and users. According to President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, Arturo Lascañas accusation against the president is a part of a protracted political drama that intends to undermine the president's leadership.

According to the Business Insider, President Rodrigo Duterte denied his involvement with vigilantism or summary executions. President Rodrigo Duterte's police chief also denied the existence of death squad in Davao, telling that it's a fiction created by media to take down the new administration.

Arturo Lascañas is considered as the second man to go public revealing his involvement in illegal killings allegedly ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte. Arturo Lascañas added that the squad receives 20,000 to 100,000 pesos per hit.