MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed that there are no records of passports or biometric data associated with Edgar Matobato, a self-identified hitman of the Davao Death Squad (DDS).
The DFA indicated that its system is designed to detect any applications made under a new or assumed identity, and that a Philippine passport will not be issued if there is an existing record or biometric information in the database.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has found no passport and biometrics records under the name ‘Edgar Matobato’,” the DFA said in a statement.
Furthermore, the DFA cautioned that submitting a fraudulent passport application constitutes a serious violation under the Passport Law.
“The DFA will continue to investigate the matter, and if warranted, refer the matter to law enforcement agencies and relevant authorities for further investigation,” it said.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has announced that it will look into whether Matobato has already departed from the country, as previously reported by the New York Times.
Matobato has claimed to be a member of the vigilante group Davao Death Squad, alleging that he carried out numerous killings at the behest of then-Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
He also provided testimony during a Senate inquiry into extrajudicial killings associated with the Duterte administration’s 2016 war on drugs, asserting that the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force was implicated in several murders in Davao City./PN
