The Department of Justice (DOJ) has in its custody a former member of the Davao Death Squad (DDS), Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday.
She said the former DDS member has been accepted into the government鈥檚 Witness Protection Program (WPP).
The DDS is a vigilante group active in Davao City that was tagged responsible for the summary executions of some 1,020 to 1,040 people between 1998 to 2008.
鈥淣ag-execute na sya ng affidavit [but] I cannot disclose听 to you the contents of the affidavit but the witness鈥� allegations are very serious,鈥� De Lima hinted.
Earlier, De Lima said the witness鈥� testimony is the basis of the National Bureau of Investigation鈥檚 (NBI) case buildup on the group.
鈥淭he NBI is already doing a case buildup on the Davao Death Squad on the basis of what was disclosed by this witness,鈥� De Lima told reporters.
De Lima said the case buildup on the DDS started almost simultaneously when the NBI filed with the DOJ multiple murder and frustrated murder charges against former Tagum City Mayor Rey 鈥淐hiong鈥� Uy and 29 others, including retired and current police officers, former local officials and alleged hitmen.
The charges were filed in connection with 82 extrajudicial killings and two murder attempts in Tagum City, the town of Dujali in Davao del Norte, Maco and Wahab in Compostela Valley and Butuan City. AU