Lucas Bersamin 鈥擧OUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Malaca帽ang on Tuesday declined to comment on the reports involving the departure of confessed killer and member of Davao Death Squad (DDS) Edgar Matobato from the country, stressing that the Palace has no ties to him.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin made the pronouncement after Matobato鈥攖he same person who linked former president Rodrigo Duterte to the DDS鈥攎ade headlines after he allegedly left the country with his wife and two stepchildren.
READ: IN THE KNOW: Edgar Matobato
鈥淲ala kaming masabi d鈥檡an dahil we have no connection with Mr. Matobato. Whatever his purpose in going out, we cannot control that,鈥� Executive Secretary Bersamin told the Malaca帽ang Press Corps.
(We can鈥檛 say anything about that because we have no connection with Mr. Matobato. Whatever his purpose in going out, we cannot control that.)
Bersamin then clarified that Malaca帽ang has no control of Matobato if he intends to testify against the drug war of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
鈥淗indi namin siya ini-encourage, hindi rin dini-discourage,鈥� he said.
(We did not encourage nor discourage him.)
Matobato previously claimed that he killed about 50 people as a member of the DDS, before withdrawing from the group in September 2013.
However, the former hitman said he was first tortured for a week until he escaped and hid in the provinces of Cebu, Samar, and Leyte.
READ: PNoy once saved ex-DDS Matobato鈥檚 life, says Trillanes
Matobato later surrendered to a regional office of the Commission on Human Rights in 2014 but opted to instead go to Manila and apply for the witness protection program of the Department of Justice on Sept. 1, 2014, after the former told him that it could not protect him.