Edgar Matobato, who confessed to be a member of the infamous “Davao Death Squad,” testified at the third Senate hearing on the extrajudicial killings linked to the administration’s campaign against drugs on Thursday, September 15. However, his testimonies, especially about Cebuano businessman Richard King’s murder in 2014, did not exactly match the facts published about the cases.
Netizen Miyako Izabel tried to research for facts behind Matobato’s testimonies.
[ads1]
- King was gunned down in Vital C, near McDonald’s
According to Matobato, King was killed inside the fast food chain while eating. However, Senator Panfilo Lacson found out through Google that King was actually killed inside his Vital C Building in Obrero, Davao City, while talking to his distributors.
Izabel explained that Matobato was actually explaining the layout of the whole place where King was killed when he talked about a hotel, a restaurant, and McDonald’s. She added that the witness was not present during the killing and only heard the story from another person so people.
Izabel then showed the photo of Vital C and McDonald’s.
- A Congressman was still talking about PAOCTF in 2014
Lacson pointed out that PAOCTF was abolished by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001 after the impeachment of former President Joseph Estrada.
Izabel posted a screenshot of a Committee Daily Bulletin published on August 13, 2014, wherein Rep. Barcelona-Reyes mentioned PAOCTF.
She also drew up another theory, wherein Matobato, whom she said was probably judged as an “uneducated Bisaya” might have mistaken the Presidential Anti-organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) for PAOCTF. Izabel added that even a Philippine Daily Inquirer journalist committed the same mistake in 2011 and shared a link to that article.
- How the Bisaya use “masking tape”
Matobato was also scored by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano when he called a packaging tape as a “masking tape” as the same tape used in their killings.
But the witness insisted that he calls all the tapes as “masking tape,” even after he pointed to the packaging tape.
Izabel then reasoned out that Bisaya people call the packaging tape masking tape.
“For the record, sa Bisaya, walang packaging o packing tape. Masking tape ang gamit naming at ibig sabihin ay ‘yong ginagamit para sa mga box. Huwag na nga kayo magpalusot. Nasaan nga pala ang Sinaloa niyo?” Izabel said.
- de Lima’s CHR team visited the same quarry Matobato talked about
Izabel said that while people may question some of the facts Matobato mentioned, it should not be as easy to dismiss what he revealed about the killings in Davao City – that the bodies were dumped in Bienvenido Laud’s quarry and that three women were dumped in San Rafael Vilage.
She also attached a video of a news report on GMA News’ State of the Nation Address that re-visited the quarry and interviewed the barangay captain of the San Rafael Village.
- Wondering why the Nograles family changed their tone towards Duterte
Izabel shared a December 2009 article about Mayor Sara Duterte and President Duterte teaming up against former House Speaker Prospero Nograles in the 2010 elections. She then quoted this part of the article: “On Saturday, Nograles announced his candidacy at the house of journalist Ferdie ‘Batman’ Lintuan in NHA Subdivision in Ma-a to remind everybody that ‘justice has not been served’ on the slain journalist. Lintuan was closely identified with Nograles and had criticized Duterte on air. ‘Bahala na si Batman’ (It’s up to Batman),’ Nograles said, referring to his chances of winning the elections.”
- How the Bisaya refer to locations
Izabel, who hails from Davao, explains how those who live in the Visayas often use business establishments as landmarks in describing a location.
“Karaniwan na ang paggamit ng mga business establishment bilang mga landmark ng mga lugar sa wikang Bisaya,” she said, before giving an example of how this kind of explanation is often used.
“Kaya hindi na ako nagtaka sa sinabi ni Matobato na binaril sa McDo at nag-abang sa bodega sa Gaisano at nasa Ateneo sa Matina. Mga area ang ibig sabihin ng McDo, Gaisano, o Ateneo sa gamit niya. Obvious naman na “Bisayang dako” siya,” she added.
- Vigilante killings using packaging tapes have long been happening
Izabel reposted her September 5 post, wherein she provided links to news articles about killings that involved the use of packaging tape on the victims.
- Linked to killings
Izabel asked, “Did Matobato tell the truth?” before sharing the news articles about the death of four people in 2010. The Senate witness revealed that Duterte ordered the killing of the oppositions’ bodyguards in 2010.
According to her Facebook post, Izabel clarified that she is not anti-Duterte or pro-Yellow but she is pro-Filipinos. She added that she supports some of Duterte’s policies, but she has always been vocal in expressing the things that she sees wrong in whatever the President does, like slamming the US and President Barack Obama while seemingly leaning towards China.
Sources: (paocc.gov.ph, facebook.com)
[ads3]
