Former President Rodrigo Duterte take his oath  on October 13, 2024 before the start of the Quad-Comm hearing on the extrajudicial killings, addressing alleged human rights violations from his administration’s war on drugs. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — Former President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday denied self-confessed Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas' statements linking him to extra-judicial killings. 

House Quad Comm co-chair Dan Fernandez initially asked Duterte if Lascañas' claims were true that he took orders from the former president on "who to kill and where to take the bodies".

Duterte arrives at House for quad comm inquiry

"Storyteller 'yan, sir. Siraulo," Duterte said.

"Pero matagal n'yo na po siyang kilala?" Fernandez asked again, recalling Lascañas' statement that he worked for Duterte for 30 years.

"Oo," Duterte responded. "Pero later on, maybe because sa daming pinatay niya, hinabol siya ng mga kalag...ng mga ispiritu ng pinatay niya. Medyo bugok na."

When asked for his reaction on Lascañas' sentiments that he was once blindly loyal to Duterte and believed that the supposed death squad was working for the greater good, Duterte said, "My hero complex 'yang buang na 'yan, sino maniniwala sa istorya na ganoon?" 

Lascañas, a former Davao City police officer, had also accused Duterte of ties to the narcotics trade, which the former president denied. 

"Hindi ako darating sa pagkapresidente sir kung ganoon ako," he said, referring to Lascañas' claim that Duterte was the "lord of all drug lords." 

"Alam ng pulis, alam ng lahat ng tao sa Pilipinas. Mayor ako, hindi ako darating sa pagkapresidente kung ganoon ako katurpe," he added.

Lascañas denied the existence of DDS in 2016, only to recant his statement in 2017.

House probe revives alleged DDS member's claims vs ex-President Duterte, son