Ex-cop: Sara approved ‘tokhang’ in Davao City

MANILA, Philippines — Former Davao City police officer Arturo Lascañas yesterday directly linked Vice President Sara Duterte to the so-called Davao Death Squad, saying she and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, were the masterminds behind the execution of 10,000 people in the city.

In a video interview with the media from an undisclosed location outside the Philippines, Lascañas said it was the Vice President, when she was Davao mayor in 2012, who came up with the “trademark” of Oplan Tokhang.

Lascañas, who claims to have led the hitmen in the Davao Death Squad, said Sara Duterte could sometimes be even more brutal than her father. She allegedly instructed then city police chief Ronald dela Rosa to just kidnap and bury drug suspects.

The Dutertes have denied the existence of death squads in Davao.

There was no immediate reaction to Lascañas’ claims from the Vice President, but she recently said she would face any probe on the drug killings in the Philippines. Like her father and Dela Rosa, now a senator, she said she would not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“To President Marcos, please take care and do not trust the monster of Davao that is Rodrigo Roa Duterte and allegedly Vice President Sara ‘Tambaloslos’ Duterte. They are traitors,” Lascañas said.

Lascañas appeared before the ICC Office of the Prosecutor and submitted a 186-page affidavit in 2021.

His affidavit detailed allegations against the Dutertes and other key officials during the Duterte administration (2016-2022).

He said Sara appointed Dela Rosa as Davao City police chief.

“Bato told me, they crafted a new extrajudicial killing campaign against illegal drugs... Their target was personalities against illegal drugs, especially those who are using and selling shabu (methamphetamine). He said, drown the target so that the case becomes a missing person case,” Lascañas said.

The number of killings does not include those killed in Metro Manila, he added.

Lascañas also accused the former president of operating a shabu laboratory in Davao City.

“You tricked the Filipino people. You are the drug lord. He ordered our group to kill 11 Chinese workers,” he said.

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