Trillanes to present evidence backing up Matobato's claims

Photo by ABS-CBN News

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Sunday that he will give evidence to support the testimonies of self-confessed assassin, Edgar Matobato.

Trillanes did not disclose what the said evidence would be or where it came from, but stated that it would corroborate the claims of Matobato.

"Definitely, people will see Mr. Matobato in a new light. Instead of trying to punch holes in his testimony, we did the investigative work of checking his claims and we found out that these were true," the senator said.

Trillanes claims that Matobato has been consistent with his statements, despite accusations from other leaders, one of which is Alan Peter Cayetano, of Matobato being inconsistent and that he was lying under oath.


"Senator Cayetano is only saying that he (Matobato) changed his statement but if you look at the transcript of the Senate, he (Matobato) has been consistent with the major revelations," Trillanes said.

He said no man has a perfect memory.

Matobato confessed that he was a member of the Davao Death Squad at a Senate hearing on the extrajudicial killings linked to President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

The witness claims Duterte himself ordered the killings.

Matobato has appeared before the Senate inquiry twice.

Trillanes added that his colleagues in the Senate should consider the condition of Matobato since he has difficulty speaking in Filipino and was not able to finish school.

Trillanes also called the frustrated murder case for Matobato "ironic and flawed".

Matobato was charged with a frustrated murder complaint by Abeto Salcedo Jr. in Digos City, Davao del Sur last September 23.

Salcedo identifiied him as the man who shot him on October 24, 2014.

"That's the irony that they completely disregarded his (Matobato) claims yet they are ready to believe the case," Trillanes said.

He said the Department of Justice documents show that Matobato has been under the witness protection program since September 2014.

"Mr. Matobato has already been accepted in the September 2014 witness protection program. He cannot be the same person who committed the October case," Trillanes said. MJM

SOURCE: ABS-CBN News

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