‘Death squad witness’ claims Duterte behind slay of Prospero Nograles aides

MANILA, Philippines — A witness in the Senate hearing into the rising number of drug-related killings in the country alleged that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the death of supporters and bodyguards of his then political rival, former House Speaker Prospero Nograles.

Self-confessed hitman of the “Davao Death Squad” (DDS), Edgar Matobato, said their squad, in charge of killing criminals, kidnapped about four supporters and bodyguards of Nograles. He said Nograles and Duterte ran for city mayor in 2010.

“Noong 2010, tumakbo po si Prospero Nograles na mayor ng Davao City. Naglaban sila ni Mayor Duterte so pinakidnap ng mga body guard ni Nograles, dinala sa Island Garden City of Samal,” Matobato narrated.

“Apat, isang ex-barangay captain na babae ang nakuha namin,” the witness added.

Asked to clarify the identity of the “Mayor Duterte” he mentioned, the witness replied:  “Ang ating mahal na pangulo ngayon. ‘Yan si Mayor Duterte,” adding that he has known Duterte for almost 24 years of working in the city hall.

To prove his allegations, Matobato narrated that he himself carried the bodies of the kidnapped personnel of Nograles and eventually threw them in the water.

“Ako nga ang nagbuhat, inisa-isa ko, binuhat ko. Nilagay ko sa buhangin at pagkatapos binigti naming lahat. Pagkatapos, biniyak namin ‘yung tiyan pagkatapos ako pa ang nagkarga ng bangka doon sa laot tinapon na namin. Nilagyan ng hollow blocks, tig-tatlong hollow block isang tao,” Matobato claimed.

Matobato also mentioned Duterte uses the code name “Charlie Mike.” Prior to his presidency, news advisories to Davao reporters refer to Duterte as Charlie Mike or military alphabet for CM, a “phonetic for city mayor.”

Contrary to Matobato’s testimony, Nograles ran against Duterte’s daughter, current Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, for the mayoralty post in 2010. Duterte-Carpio won as city mayor while her father then became the vice mayor of the same city.

Nograles’ son, Rep. Karlo Nograles, also denied the testimonies of Matobato, saying they have no bodyguards.

“We have no bodyguards. Except those assigned to us officially by the PNP (Philippine National Police). And if you check they are still alive,” Karlo said in a statement.

Former House Speaker Nograles supported Duterte's bid for presidency during the elections.