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- Hitman confesses before Senate hearing: "They were killed like chickens
- Claims killings were of opponents, not criminals
- Duterte has vowed to eradicate online gambling in the Philippines
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reportedly ordered the killings of approximately 1000 dissidents, criminals and opponents when he was still a city mayor, claims hitman Edgar Matobato.
The 57-year-old told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings and acknowledged he himself carried out about 50 of the abductions and deadly assaults, including a man who they fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao city.
"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," Matobato said under oath, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Duterte and one of his sons in Davao city.
"They were killed like chickens," said Matobato, who added he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection program.
A spokesperson for Duterte has denied the allegations.
When asked by a reporter if he thought Duterte was capable of giving such directive, Martin Andanar said: "The Commission on Human Rights already conducted an investigation years ago, when the President was still a Mayor, and charges were not filed, they did not see any direct evidence."
Since taking office this summer, the new Philippines President has made the eradication of gambling a number one priority. A number of gambling operators in that nation have expressed to Gambling911.com their apprehension with being there in recent weeks.
"Online gambling must stop. It has sprouted here and there,” Duterte declared before obliterating PhilWeb’s nearly 13- year monopoly on the industry. “This is out of control."
“One can take these changes as the government overhauling and realigning the industry into something that is more controlled and regulated by weeding out the small gaming companies,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at Manila-based BDO Unibank Inc., the nation’s biggest lender. “But over the short term, these changes will be taken negatively as markets by nature don’t like disruptions.”
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
