DOJ approves Matobato indictment over Digos slay try

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the indictment of self-confessed hit man and Davao death squad (DDS) member Edgar Matobato over his alleged botched attempt to kill a Department of Agriculture adjudicator in Digos City two years ago.

In a resolution released yes- terday afternoon, the Digos City prosecutor’s office found probable cause in the frustrated murder complaint filed by Abeto Salcedo Jr. against Matobato.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the case against Matobato would be filed before the trial court in the following days.

The indictment of Matobato came a few months after he appeared before a Senate inquiry and tagged President Duterte as the mastermind of the DDS that was responsible for extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals in Davao City.

Preliminary investigation by prosecutors showed that the incident took place in October 2014 when Salcedo was leaving his office in Digos City.

Matobato shot Salcedo, a former adjudicator at DASouthern Mindanao, several times, but the latter survived the attack.

He earlier denied the charges, telling a Senate inquiry last October 2016 that he was under the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program when the incident took place.

The hit man claimed he killed several individuals on Duterte’s orders during his decades-long stint as city mayor of Davao.

Matobato was admitted to the WPP during the term of then justice secretary and now Sen. Leila de Lima, but left when Duterte won the presidency in May last year.

The Palace has denied the allegations of Matobato, which it said have not been backed by evidence.