Vice President Sara Duterte joins the Bagong Pilipinas kick-off rally at Quirino Grandstand on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool 

MANILA — Self-confessed former Davao Death Squad (DDS) hitman Arturo Lascañas on Wednesday claimed that Vice President Sara Duterte was allegedly complicit in the "tokhang" killings by the vigilante group in Davao City when she was mayor. 

Lascañas, a retired policeman, claimed that Duterte was the brains behind the notorious Oplan Tokhang, implemented by Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa when he was still Davao City's police chief. 

"Sila ni Bato, nag-craft sila ng bagong EJK (extrajudicial killing) campaign, which is Toktok-Hangyo," Lascañas said in an online press briefing. 

"Siya nga ang pasimuno nitong Oplan Tokhang noong nakaupo syang mayor," 

Asked whether VP Duterte knew or authorized supposed extrajudicial killings as part of the campaign, Lascañas could only say that VP Duterte conceptualized Tokhang. 

"Si Sara ang nag-craft nung Tokhang. Hindi raw nya alam ano ang ginagawa dyan sa bogus drug war. Nag-imbento s'ya ng bagong trademark, ang Tokhang, pinayagan nya si Bato na impose sa Davao," Lascañas said. 

Duterte earlier denied that she was involved in any activity of the "Davao Death Squad", which allegedly killed individuals suspected of crimes and drug deals.

“Sa mga taon na nagsilbi ako bilang Vice Mayor at Mayor ng Davao City, ni minsan ay hindi napag-usapan o naiugnay ang aking pangalan sa umano’y Davao Death Squad. Subalit, matapos akong manalo bilang Vice President, bigla na lang nagkaroon ng testigo laban sa akin at ngayon ay kasama na ako sa mga akusado sa International Criminal Court,” Duterte said in a statement earlier this month. 

“Hindi ko kailangan ng death squad para sa mga bagay na kaya kong gawin,” she added. 

The Vice President issued the remark after Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV alleged in a TV interview that Duterte was among the alleged respondents in the investigation of the ICC. 

VP Duterte denies involvement in ‘Davao Death Squad’

ABS-CBN News is still reaching out to Duterte for comment on Lascañas' claims. 

Meanwhile, Dela Rosa dismissed Lascañas' allegations about his supposed involvement in the DDS. 

“Sige pabayaan mo lang s'ya, mag-allege lang siya nang mag-allege. Basta malinis ang konsensya ko… Bahala s'ya sa buhay nya,” Dela Rosa said.

Duterte was mayor of Davao City from 2010 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2022.

The ICC is investigating the anti-narcotics campaign and alleged DDS killings under her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

The Duterte patriarch pulled the Philippines out of the ICC in 2019, a year after the Hague-based tribunal began a preliminary probe into the drug crackdown that killed thousands. 

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