Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday, Feb. 1, denied accusations by self-confessed former Davao Death Squad (DDS) hitman Arturo Lascañas that she was complicit in the “tokhang” killings by the vigilante group when she was still Davao City mayor.

Vice President Sara Duterte (Noel Pabalate/MANILA BULLETIN)

In a statement, the official dismissed the allegations, though she did not mention Lascañas’ name and referred to him only as an “alleged witness” that pointed to her involvement in “Oplan Tokhang,” DDS, and extrajudicial killings (EJK) in her hometown of Davao City.

“Bago ang script na ito (This is a new script),” she said in a video message released by her office.

Duterte added that her name was never dragged with the issue before becoming Vice President.

“Bigla na lang nagkaroon ng testigo laban sa akin nang mahalal ako na Vice President. At kabilang na nga ako ngayon sa mga akusado sa International Criminal Court (There was suddenly a witness against me when I was elected Vice President. And now, I am one of the accused in the International Criminal Court),” she said.

The official was referring to the ICC case investigating the bloody anti-drugs campaign and DDS killings under the term of her father, president Rodrigo Duterte.

Though the Duterte patriarch pulled out from the Rome Statute in 2019, a year after the tribunal began a preliminary probe into the killings, the ICC maintains jurisdictions on incidents that happened until the withdrawal was finalized.

“Maliban sa tiyempo, malinaw na sadyang pinilit lang na maidugtong ang pangalan ko sa isyung ito para ako maging akusado sa ICC (Aside from timing, it is clear that my name was forced to be a part of this issue so I can be one of the accused in the ICC),” she added.

The Vice President again stressed that she’s prepared to face charges as long as these are filed in Philippine courts, and lambasted the ICC for intervening in domestic issues.

“Ang pagpupumilit ng ICC na pakialaman ang ating hudikatora ay panghihimasok sa ating soberanya. Paglapastangan ito sa dignidad ng mga Pilipino at sa karangalan ng Pilipinas (ICC’s insistence to intervene in our judicial process is an infringement into our sovereignty. This is a violation of our dignity as Filipinos and the honor of the Philippines),” Duterte said.

“Wala na itong debate, sa testigo at mga tao na nakapalikod sa kanya magfile kayo ng kasong murder laban sa akin dito sa Pilipinas (There is no debate, to the witness and people behind him, file a murder case against me here in the Philippines).”

In an online interview on Wednesday, Jan. 31, Lascañas claimed that the Vice President, then Davao City mayor, was the brains behind Oplan Tokhang, which was implemented by Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa when was still the city’s police chief.