There are Many Ways to Kill
Edgar Matobato, a hit man, once confessed to having killed more than 50 people for Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines. For nearly 24 years, Matobato worked with the Davao Death Squad, a notorious group responsible for extrajudicial killings that Duterte justified as part of his law-and-order campaign against drug pushers and other criminals. Matobato’s testimony has been crucial to investigators seeking to hold Duterte accountable for his human rights abuses during his presidency, which ended in 2022.
Matobato, who is now 65, claimed that he rarely hid his identity as he worked for the city government, giving him impunity for his crimes. He said that he was pulled in by his work, describing himself as “a force multiplier” who would often be instructed to kill anyone who got in the way. Over the course of his involvement with the group, Matobato said he killed people he considered “trash,” including criminals, but he also targeted political opponents, businesspeople, journalists, and those who challenged Duterte’s interests.
Matobato’s testimony reveals the gruesome tactics used by the Davao Death Squad to dispose of corpses, including strangling victims, slicing them apart with a long and thin blade, and filling their bodies with engine oil. He also describes how the squad would often dispose of bodies by dismembering them and hiding them in small caves and limestone outcroppings.
But Matobato’s story does not end there. After being in hiding for a decade, he finally came forward to make his confession in the hopes of bringing Duterte to justice. According to Matobato, Duterte would often be present at tortures, executions, and the burial of the dead, solidifying his direct involvement in the human rights atrocities committed during his presidency.
Although Matobato has expressed guilt and remorse for his actions, he has chosen not to ask for immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. Instead, he hopes to face justice through the International Criminal Court, where he believes he can help bring closure to the countless families affected by the Davao Death Squad’s brutal murders.
As investigators continue to pour over Matobato’s confessions, he remains in a new home, far from his native Philippines and the life of violence he left behind. Free from the fears of being detected and killed by Duterte’s minions, Matobato is taking steps to rediscover himself outside of his notorious past. It is a rare and poignant insight into the workings of a conflicted mind and the devastating legacy of a toxic leader.
