Witness has left Witness Protection Program

MANILA - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has hit a wall in its investigation into the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS), a vigilante group that has repeatedly been linked to incoming president and Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

In a news conference on Friday, outgoing Justice Acting Secretary Emmanuel Caparas said the lone witness in the probe initiated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) early last year is no longer with the Witness Protection Program (WPP).

READ: 'Davao Death Squad' hitman now under witness protection program

Caparas said the witness voluntarily left the program, adding that there is no way anymore to verify the witness' claims in his affidavits.

"There's really nothing there... there are affidavits but if you want to confirm the affidavits, ask the witness. He left the program voluntarily, so the exit was voluntary," he said.

The justice chief added that there has been no concrete evidence on the DDS case.

"Katulad ng sinabi ko naman dati tungkol sa DDS [issue], lumilitaw tapos nawawala tapos lumilitaw... to me it's a matter of facts; prove it, then we can proceed and do what's appropriate.

"I don't want to speculate; it's not fair to speculate," Caparas said.

In May of last year, then Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte and who, during her stint as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), probed the DDS, confirmed that the NBI, an attached agency of the DOJ, is investigating the DDS.

De Lima, however, refused to give details other than to say a witness has come forward and was admitted to the WPP.

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