<div class="article-comment">

"The long arm of the law has finally caught up with Matobato and demonstrates that though the wheels of justice in the Philippines may be slow, these eventually catch up. 


"Mr. Matobato is a self-confessed assassin and kidnapper. He admitted his crimes in full view of the public."

</div>


The arrest warrant was for a non-bailable offense.


Panabo City (Davao del Norte) Regional Trial Court Branch 4 Judge Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga issued the warrant against Matobato last Monday, March 27, 2017, based on a case filed by the wife of kidnap victim Sali Makdum, an alleged international terrorist, against him and a certain Sonny Custodio.


Matobato had earlier admitted the kidnap case against him when he testified at the Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings in September last year.


He also confirmed the existence of the Davao Death Squad (DDS) and accused President Rodrigo Duterte of ordering the group to kill crime suspects and his personal enemies when he was Davao City mayor.


The President has denied the accusations.


Abella also said Matobato's impending arrest might injure the movement that seeks to destabilize the Duterte administration. He added:


<div class="article-comment">

"It is to be expected that cries of political persecution would be raised by the opposition and others who have vested interests in destabilizing the administration." 

</div>


The Palace official also took a swipe at Matobato's other option for refuge, the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is being pressed to monitor drug-related killings in the Philippines:

<div class="article-comment">

"The ICC cannot arbitrarily interfere in the domestic affairs of a sovereign country like the Philippines." 

</div>

Earlier this month, Matobato's lawyer Jude Sabio said his client might testify against Mr. Duterte on possible "crimes against humanity."


Abella, however, yesterday reiterated that the claims floated by Matobato's camp are immaterial since local bodies already absolved the President of crimes leveled against him. He pointed out:

<div class="article-comment">

"There is no concrete evidence pointing to crimes against humanity here: Such crimes must be widespread and systematically directed against a specific group. This element is absent in the Philippine situation." 


"The Philippine Senate already absolved the President and there exists no such crime." 

</div>


Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo also had said the case would not prosper because there is "no basis" that Mr. Duterte ordered the rampant killings in Davao City.

<h3>
Not 10,000
</h3>

Meanwhile, Mr. Duterte also yesterday admitted that hundreds of criminals were eliminated during his time as Davao city mayor, but stressed he did not order the killings.


"They said I killed 10,000. That's too many. I can say, around 600 were killed, criminals killed in action ... and not upon my orders," he said during the People's Day celebration in Oriental Mindoro.


Also, he stressed majority of the criminals he sent to prison were guilty.


Arturo Lascanas, a retired Davao policeman, earlier said police carried out killings in Davao under the instruction of Duterte, who allegedly tasked the "Davao death squad" with eliminating criminals.


His claim, however, was a departure from his previous statement in October that the so-called death squad did not exist.


His account was similar to that of Matobato, who admitted during a Senate hearing in September to personally having watched Duterte shoot a man dead and give orders for police to kill suspected criminals.



Sources: 

<ol class="article-sources">
<li>
Matobato arrest order: Justice served — Palace by Ted Tuvera, March 30, 2017, <a href="https://goo.gl/Kn4FTQ" target="_blank" class="news_link" title="Source">The Daily Tribune</a>
</li>
</ol>



(This article is adapted from the source listed above. We are unable to grant permission for any kind of reproduction other than social media shares.)

Arrest warrant for a non-bailable offense issued for self-confessed hitman Matobato