Former member of the Davao Death Squad (DDS), Arturo Lascañas, has reaffirmed his earlier testimony before the Philippine Senate and during a pre-trial hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
By breaking the omertà, the code of silence, Lascañas seeks to provide additional evidence implicating former President Rodrigo Duterte in illegal drug activities in the Southern Philippines.
Lascañas further detailed his experiences as a major assassin, shedding light on allegations against Duterte, in his tell-all interview with Vera Files.
Lascañas, who once subscribed to the code of silence, testified about the clandestine activities of the DDS, implicating former Davao mayor in various crimes.
In an affidavit submitted to the ICC, Lascañas spoke about the alleged involvement of Duterte in the operation of shabu (methamphetamine) laboratories in Davao City.
Lascañas’s most damning testimony so far is when he asserted, “Duterte is the lord of all drug lords in the Southern Philippines… He is the most dangerous person in the southern hemisphere.”
During an interview outside the Philippines on Nov. 17, Lascañas confirmed his knowledge of a shabu laboratory disguised as a canned fish factory in Barangay Dumoy, Talomo in Davao city.
He claimed that Duterte instructed him and Sonny Buenaventura to escort shipments from the factory to the Toril Fishport Complex.
“I always [saw] Michael Yang outside [the canned fish factory] when we talked about the extortion of the traffic police in the Toril area, in their [delivery vans] deliver[ing] to the Toril Fishport,” Lascañas revealed. “We delivered to the Toril Fishport more than three times. It was all drugs… shabu.”
Lascañas further disclosed that he spoke to the owner of the shipping fleet, Mr. Cascabel, who confirmed the factory’s true nature. Cascabel allegedly told him, “Tur, this is from the drug shabu laboratory of Duterte, very sensitive.”
Michael Yang, who played a significant role in introducing Pharmally Pharmaceutical to Duterte, was implicated in the drug trade in 2017, according to documents from the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG).
Despite this, Duterte appointed Yang as his presidential economic adviser in January 2018.
Lascañas claimed that Duterte ordered the elimination of 11 Chinese nationals involved in the raided shabu laboratory in December 2004.
He detailed how they were killed and buried in Laud Quarry, Davao City.
The operation was a classic example of ensuring “dead men tell no tales.”
The revelations don’t stop there.
Lascañas accused Duterte of being aware of multiple shabu laboratories, including one in Barangay Obrero and another inside Green Heights Subdivision on Buhangin Diversion Road.
Lascañas traced the association between Yang and Duterte back to Sammy Uy, who allegedly sponsored Yang’s entry into Davao City with his shabu chemist.
Uy, described as Duterte’s “bosom friend,” supervised the construction of the canned fish factory.
In his affidavit, Lascañas referred to Uy as the “gambling and shabu mafia of Davao City,” claiming that Duterte was not only aware of Uy’s illegal activities but also actively participated in them.
In a direct challenge to Duterte, Lascañas expressed his readiness to confront the president in the ICC, stating, “If he was telling the truth, and against my words, why not face me face-to-face in the ICC? He’s a lawyer; I’m not a lawyer. I’m just an investigator, but I can confront him. I can prove my case.”
The Daily Netizen 
[…] made several explosive claims, including in his affidavit submitted to the ICC, that Duterte is the “lord of all drug lords in southern Philippines” and that Duterte and his close allies, including current Senator Bong Go, plotted the assassination […]
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