SHOW PROOF OF STATE-SPONSORED KILLINGS, EXISTENCE OF DDS - GORDON

Senator Richard J. Gordon yesterday stood by the over 100-page committee report on the investigation, in aid of legislation, on recent and rampant killings.

Based on evidence provided by resource persons and witnesses, it was established that there have been thousands of killings with impunity taking place every year in the country over at least the last two decades. However, the Senate inquiry showed that there is no evidence that there is a State-sponsored policy to commit killings in the eradication of illegal drugs or in other types of killings.

Gordon challenged critics of Committee Report No. 18, which was submitted by the Senate Committees on Justice and Human Rights and on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, to show proof that there is a state policy sanctioning the killings with impunity so that the committee could reopen the hearings and investigate them.

"The chair stands by its committee report. We don't spin yarns on the matters raised here. We are good in the Senate but we are not that good because we don't have the legs to do all the necessary investigations. There are other agencies tasked with doing that. We can only go by the parameters set by the resolutions filed by Senators Leila De Lima and which prompted the investigation in aid of legislation. The framework of the investigation was clear and therefore, that was what we addressed," the chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights said.

"We did not receive evidence from the senators who filed the resolutions. There was no evidence to prove that the killings were state-sponsored. And you heard me say earlier that if there was evidence that was presented that could connect it, then fine we will investigate it. But since the framework of the investigation was clear and we did not receive any evidence, you cannot squeeze blood from us," he added.

Likewise, Gordon said the committee could not conclude that the alleged Davao Death Squad (DDS) existed since there was no evidence presented to prove this. Edgar Matobato, with his inconsistencies in his testimonies, was not able to prove the existence of the DDS. This conclusion was later on found to be supported by a letter sent to Commission on Human Rights by the Office of the Ombudsman in January 2016. The disposition approved by the Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur H. Carandang showed that "no evidence was gathered to support the killings attributed or attributable to the DDS" therefore the investigation was "closed and terminated."

"Right now there was no evidence presented by those who filed the resolutions to prove that. If later on evidence will be presented to show that, then well and good, we will reopen the investigation. But right now, there is no evidence. The title of the report speaks for itself, we must end killings with impunity," he said.

Gordon also advised the critics that to make an allegation stand, it must be supported by evidence.

"A word of advice: 'Just because you say it, doesn't make it the truth, just because you allege it doesn't mean it's the truth.' You have to prove it, gather evidence to prove your allegations. When we conduct an investigation, we can only conclude based on what is presented before us. I will not be a dog barking at caravans passing through the night. I wish that they have presented more cogent evidence, clearer evidence that what a certain critic says is happening," he said.