Bersamin: Palace has no control over Edgar Matobato
Malacañang stated on Tuesday that it had no information on the whereabouts of confessed hitman Edgar Matobato, nor any control over his actions, including whether he might testify in another forum.
''Wala kaming masabi diyan (We can’t comment on that) dahil we have no connection with Mr. Matobato. Whatever his purpose in going out, we cannot control that. But if he intends to go to testify in another forum, that's also beyond our control," Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said.
''Hindi namin siya ine-encourage, hindi rin namin siya dinidiscourage,'' Bersamin added.
(We neither encourage nor discourage him.)
The New York Times recently reported that Matobato had fled the Philippines.
Matobato, who claims to have been a member of the vigilante Davao Death Squad, alleged that he carried out multiple killings on orders from then-Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
He also testified during a Senate investigation into extrajudicial killings linked to the Duterte administration's 2016 war on drugs, claiming that the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) was responsible for several killings in Davao City. — DVM, GMA Integrated News