The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday, Jan. 22, that it has no record of a passport and biometric records for self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato even as a New York Times article revealed he left the country.
Former Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Edgar Matobato testifies before the Philippine Senate in Pasay City. (AP)
“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has found no passport and biometrics records under the name 'Edgar Matobato’,” the DFA statement read.
“Any application under a new or assumed identity will be flagged by the system, and a Philippine passport will not be issued, if there is already an existing record and biometrics in the database,” it added.
The DFA assured that an investigation is now underway and “refer the matter to law enforcement agencies and relevant authorities for further investigation” if evidence reveal a further need for probe.
“Fraudulent application for passport is a serious offense punishable under the Passport Law,” the DFA stressed.
A New York Times article weeks ago detailed Matobato’s escape from the country. He supposedly left the Philippines with his wife and two stepchildren.
He had been in hiding since 2017, when a warrant of arrest was issued against him for an alleged kidnapping case in 2002.
Matobato alleged that former president Rodrigo Duterte had a death squad in Davao City.
He had reportedly given a deposition to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is running a now-seven-year investigation into the former president’s bloody war on drugs.