Lascañas: ‘Superman’ ordered death of political enemies

By Charmaine Deogracias
VERA Files

(Last of two parts)
It was the raid at Tancio’s residence that gave the group the name DDS, he said. Originally they wanted to make it appear the NPA was behind the killings, by leaving a note that said, “Wag pamarisan mga salot ng lipunan (Don’t imitate the dregs of society).”

Somebody in the group protested the use of the name of the NPA, who would deny it, and could irritate Mayor Duterte. “So Asentista and Lanay inserted another name – the Davao Death Squad,” Lascañas said.

The raid on Tancio’s residence yielded no firearms or illegal drugs. No arrest was made but the house was peppered with bullets, and no one returned fire. The only occupant was a housemaid who was killed in the operation.

Lascañas recounted in detail the killing of the Patasaja family whose head, identified only as “Mr. Patasaja” was believed to be behind the kidnapping of a certain Mrs. Abaca, wife of a local banker in Davao City named Dante Abaca. Mrs Abaca was eventually released.

Their initial investigation revealed that the person behind it was a certain Edwin Angeles, who Lascañas described in his affidavit as part Muslim, and believed to be the leader of an organized kidnap-foransom group from Basilan and Zamboanga Peninsula.

A check on Angeles’ background showed he was a police asset who had infiltrated the Abu Sayyaf group and introduced kidnap-foransom activities to destroy the group’s Islamist foundations. A former Marine colonel who led operations against the Abu Sayyaf told Vera Files Angeles was the nephew of the wife of a Marine general.

Angeles was arrested but escaped detention at Camp Crame together with Khaddafy Janjalani, who succeeded his brother Abdurajak as leader of the Abu Sayyaf.

The DDS, according to Lascañas, exhausted all means round the clock for weeks in different provinces in South and North Cotabato but failed to find Angeles. Several months later,  “A-1” information revealed that it was Patasaja who was behind the Abaca kidnapping, but Angeles’ name continued to appear as financier even if they were zeroing in on Patasaja already.

Duterte was briefed about the abduction of the whole Patasaja family and his guidance sought. In his affidavit, Lascañas said Duterte gave the go signal to have the whole family “erased” and make sure “limpio lang (Visayan for clean or without trace).”

And so it was done, muffled gunshots of a firearm with suppressor were heard from a small house where Patasaja, his father-in-law, a male helper and a housemaid were being held.

“I then heard the loud screams of the wife and then silence after several gunshots were fired. I did not know then how the child was killed because it was dark,” Lascañas said in his affidavit.

In his public confession on February 20, Lascañas narrated how the group overruled him after he appealed to them to spare the boy’s life. He included this incident in his affidavit.

“After all their bodies were lined up on the ground, their personal belongings removed and burned including the Quran of the wife. All the bodies were then loaded into two vehicles and brought deeper into the Laud quarry where Miguel and two other trusted men of SPO4 Laud stripped them naked before burying them,” Lascañas narrated in his affidavit.

He said his team claimed and received the reward money of P200,000 from Duterte several days after that. Macasaet then instructed them to go back to the Laud quarry to check the area where the bodies were buried.

“We returned to Laud quarry and brought used oil which we put on top of the places where the bodies were buried to keep the flies away,” Lascañas said.

Lascañas also put in writing what he confessed publicly on the Bersabal murder, the Davao mosques bombing and the assassination of Pala.

“I do not expect forgiveness from the families and relatives of the people we killed. I do hope that they would at least find comfort in knowing what really happened to them and who was truly responsible for their disappearance and murder,” Lascañas said.

Lascañas said the incidents in his affidavit are just some of the many involving Duterte of which he had personal knowledge. He said he took part in them, together with police other police officers, rebel returnees and others with the prior knowledge, direct orders, consent, tolerance or acquiescence of then Mayor Duterte of Davao City.

“I know it’s not enough to say sorry, but I am truly sorry for what I have done and I am ready to face the consequences of my action,” Lascañas said.

(VERA Files is put out by senior journalists taking a deeper look into current issues. VERA is Latin for true.)