De Lima in handwritten note: Listen to Lascañas and Matobato

Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday urged the public to take heed of the confessions of retired SPO3 Arturo "Arthur" Lascañas and self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato on the alleged Davao Death Squad (DDS).

In a handwritten statement, the senator said, "It's time for the entire nation to listen and open their eyes on what Lascañas and Matobato had so far revealed and shall further reveal.. before it is too late for us and our children."

"Stop the killings, stop the lies.. stop impunity!" she wrote.

The senator earlier said Lascañas and Matobato's testimonies are "admissible and worthy of credence" because it was based on personal knowledge.

Lascañas and Matobato both claim that the so-called DDS exists and that President Rodrigo Duterte, then mayor of Davao City, was responsible for the killings committed by the group.

Malacañang had denounced the testimonies of Lascañas, saying those were "fabricated and unacceptable."

De Lima is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame over drug-related charges that was bolstered by testimonies from several high-profile convicts in the New Bilibid Prison. —Anna Felicia Bajo/ALG, GMA News