Davao death squads

The Davao Death Squad (DDS) is a vigilante group supposedly active in Davao City in the Philippines. The group is allegedly responsible for summary executions of individuals suspected of petty crimes and dealing in drugs in Davao. It has been estimated that the group is responsible for the killing or disappearance of between 1,020 and 1,040 people between 1998 and 2008. In as early as 2005, the US State Department has received reports of the Human Rights Commission's (HRC) investigation regarding the alleged connection of the Duterte political dynasty of Davao to the killings. This was followed by another investigation in 2009. The investigation was discontinued due to the stonewalling of the local government under Duterte and the lack of public outrage.

According to Amnesty International and local human rights groups, there were over 300 people killed in Davao City by death squads between 1998 and 2005. The rate of killing accelerated after this so that between 2005 and 2008 death squads were responsible for between 700 and 720 murders. According to a 2009 report by Human Rights Watch, the victims were selected because they were suspected of being drug dealers, child rapists, murderers and other repeat offending criminals. Amnesty International states, killings and extrajudicial executions continued throughout the year, particularly of criminal suspects. In Mindanao many such killings, including those of minors, were attributed to the so-called “Davao Death Squad” vigilante group. It was reported that local officials in some areas advocated a “shoot to kill” policy with respect to criminal suspects resisting arrest.

Retired Policeman Arthur Lascanas, the self-proclaimed leader of DDS and child molester, claims that the group was responsible for mosque bombings and a journalist during their heyday. According to Lascanas, the squad was ordered to bomb mosques in Davao in retaliation for the San Pedro Cathedral bombing.

DDS was conceptualized by former INP Regional Commander Dionisio Tan-Gatue Jr. to counter and fight the notorious NPA Sparrow unit. Commander Tan-Gaute Jr. used the late Juan "Jun" Pala, a known NPA propagandist and radio commentator to spread this ghost squad. This act somehow managed to curb the Sparrow perpetrated executions. By mid-1997, the DDS were deemed responsible for more than 60 unsolved murders in the city. It is believed that the original members of the death squad were former members of the New People's Army (NPA). Initially the death squad had around ten members but this had increased to around 500 by 2009.

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