Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said Communications Secretary Martin Andanar was mistaken in saying the agency cleared President Rodrigo Duterte of involvement in the alleged Davao Death Squad.
“The CHR wishes to stress that in its Resolution, entitled “In re: Extra-Judicial Killings Attributed or Attributable to the so-called Davao Death Squad,” issued last 28 June 2012, the Commission did NOT clear the former mayor of Davao City of extra-judicial killings and his alleged involvement in the Davao Death Squad,” the CHR said Tuesday.
The agency’s statement comes after Andanar said Monday that the CHR, the Ombudsman and the Senate Committee on Justice all absolved Duterte of playing a role in alleged extrajudicial killings when he was still Davao City Mayor.
So far, only the Senate cleared Duterte after finishing its investigation last year.
The CHR said it recommended in 2012 that the Ombudsman investigate whether or not Duterte is liable for the deaths of suspected criminals, allegedly killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen from 2005 to 2009.
“The Ombudsman, based on its recent pronouncements, has resumed its investigation according to news articles,” it said.
Interest in the alleged vigilante death squad was reignited after former police officer Arturo Lascanas said in a Monday press conference, that he was one of the founders of the so-called “death squad” that killed people under Duterte’s orders.
