Ex-mayor of Tagum City denies involvement with death squad

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Former Tagum City mayor Rey “Chiong” Uy yesterday denied accusations he was behind an alleged death squad, which was said to be responsible for almost 300 unsolved killings in the capital of Davao del Norte.

Uy said the recent report of the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) about an alleged death squad in Tagum City was a product of black propaganda spun by his political rivals.

He said his rivals could have connived with those behind the illegal drugs and gambling activities in the city.

“I am not behind any killings in my place since I became mayor in 1998. I do not employ anyonen or anybody to form a death squad they said existed in Tagum City,” Uy said.

He described the HRW report titled “One Shot to the Head: Death Squad Killings in Tagum City, Philippines” as “very unfair” and full of lies.