[The Slingshot] Jekyll, Hyde and Bong Go

“The following are the individuals directly and indirectly connected with the DDS killing spree in Davao City:

b. Former Special Assistant to the President and now Senator Christopher Bong Go – From 2001 to 2016, he sometimes relayed the kill orders of Mayor RRD.” 

The affidavit that the former Davao Death Squad team leader Arturo Lascañas submitted to the International Criminal Court in 2020 contains 186 pages. One must be able to stomach reading the bloodcurdling accounts, for it is all about cold-blooded slaughter and carnage. The entry above on Bong Go is found on page 10, the first time his name was mentioned, the beginning of the uncountable times he is mentioned as a principal of the DDS killings in Davao City. 

The Lascañas affidavit, btw, is a first-person eyewitness testimony that has been corroborated by at least five former hitmen of the DDS.

Anyone mentioned in the affidavit who has participated in the Davao City mass killings cannot invoke Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. With apologies to Robert Louis Stevenson, the double identity is inoperable in this case. 

For Bong Go now wants us to believe that he is the cool and compassionate Dr. Jekyll who knew nothing about the killings. He must now make sure his potion does not run out. Last week, the quad committee of the House of Representatives recommended on plenary that charges of crimes against humanity be filed against Rodrigo Duterte, Bato dela Rosa, and Bong Go. 

Republic Act 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity that was passed in 2009 under the Arroyo presidency, identifies “crimes against humanity” as, among others: willful killing, extermination, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance of persons. All of those were methods done by the Davao Death Squad.

Reader, judge for yourselves if Bong Go was innocent of such crimes. A social media post that featured Go’s response to the House recommendation is characteristic of his carefully curated malasakit public image: Hindi naman ako mukhang criminal. Sabi nga nila, mabait naman daw ako (I don’t look like a criminal. They said that I am kind.) 

These are some of the entries of his participation in the Davao Death Squad. 

Sometime 2007, unknown riding tandem assassins killed a known broadcast journalist of the city named Ferdinand “Batman” Lintuan. The then-director of the Davao City Police Office, Jaime Morente, called for a meeting of the DDS hitmen to investigate the killing. The meeting took place at the Linmarr Apartel Coffee Shop and was arranged by Bong Go. Unknown to the group, the Lintuan murder was done by the death squad of Sonny Buenaventura, the mayor’s driver and bodyguard. As special assistant to then-mayor Duterte, Go certainly knew the existence of the DDS.

And certainly, Go did other jobs that involved killing. A case in point was the cash pilferage involving employees of the businessman John Gaisano who owned several malls in the city. The following lengthy account is quoted verbatim from the affidavit as it details the very personal involvement of Go in the death squad killings.

“Mr. Bong Go in one instance called me thru cellphone and informed me that he wanted to meet me in person for a very important matter. Bong Go told me that we would meet in Twin Pines Gun store parking area along Quirino avenue, Davao City. It was almost lunch time when Bong Go and I met and he told me about Mr. John Gaisano Jr.’s complaint regarding the cash money pilferage in his business establishment involving his trusted employees. A criminal case had been filed and warrants of arrest were issued but no one was arrested yet by the police. One of the suspects was a certain Ana Nilles, whose husband was Mr. John Gaisano’s personal driver and bodyguard. Mr. Go suggested to Mr. John Gaisano that the husband of the suspect, Mr. Primo Nilles, be investigated in under duress situation so that he would be forced to divulge the whereabouts of his wife. This proposed solution to Mr. John Gaisano’s complaint was cleared already by superman Digong Duterte, and it was Sonny Buenaventura who informed Bong Go to utilize our group in Heinous Crime Office to conduct the investigation and operation. I told Bong Go that I know the person of Mr. Primo Nilles and his wife Ana Nilles, including her twin sister Annie. Bong Go ordered me to abduct/kidnap Mr. Primo Nilles and apply the third-degree method of interrogation on him to force Primo to confess the whereabouts and location of his wanted wife, and the identities of the other employees involved in the said pilferage. I agreed and told Bong Go that I would inform Sonny Buenaventura. Bong Go told me that he already informed Sonny about the solution to kidnap Primo Nilles and Sonny seemed not interested because Mr. John Gaisano is a very thrifty person and not a loyal supporter of Mayor RRD. I inquired with Bong Go if it is necessary for me to personally coordinate to Mr. John Gaisano Jr., but Bong Go told me that there is no need for me to coordinate personally with Mr. John Gaisano. Bong Go instructed me just to prepare our ‘Tropa’ (Group), and gave me P20,000 cash money as our operation expenses.”

“A day later, I called up Bong Go, and informed him that our group is ready for the said abduction operation. Bong Go instructed me to standby and wait for his call. Our group was composed of then SPO2 Jim Abragan Tan, SPO1 Benvenido Furog, PO3 Reynante Medina, and civilian asset Mamay Tapic as the driver of our vehicle (Urvan type Van). After several hours, Bong Go called me up and instructed me that we can abduct Primo Nilles at the entrance gate of Mr. John Gaisano’s residence along Sta. Ana Ave., Davao City, near the Sta. Ana Church, at more or less 9:00 o’clock in the morning. After Bong Go’s instruction to me, I called up Sonny Buenaventura and informed Sonny about Bong Go’s order, and the clearance from Superman Digong. Sonny told me that it was cleared already and that he (Sonny) was busy attending and supervising the ongoing construction of his beach house in the Island Garden City of Samal. Bong Go, apparently, is a distant relative of Mr. John Gaisano’s wife Joy and that Bong Go will take care of everything.”

“The following day, at 7:00 o’clock in the morning, more or less, our vehicle (Urban type van) was posted in front of the entrance gate of Mr. John Gaisano residence along Sta. Ana Ave., Davao City. On board were Mamay Tapic, as driver, SPO1 Benvenido Furog, and PO3 Reynante Medina. I and Jim Tan were posted at a nearby distance on board Jim Tan’s pick-up vehicle. The game plan: SPO1 Furog and PO3 Medina would introduce themselves as C.I.D.G. agents to Primo Nilles, handcuff him, and force him inside the vehicle (van), blindfold him with packaging tape, and proceed to our safehouse in Laud quarry, Brgy Langub – Ma-a, Davao City. I texted Bong Go and informed him that our group was already positioned on the area, waiting for the arrival of the target-Primo Nilles. Bong Go replied “OK”. A couple of hours later, we saw Primo Nilles walking towards the entrance gate of Mr. John Gaisano’s residence. Jim Tan alerted SPO1 Furog thru our hand-held radio communication equipment that the target was approaching their position. A few minutes later, SPO1 Benvenido Furog and then PO3 Reynante Medina accosted the target with drawn guns and whisked him inside the vehicle (van) and sped away. I immediately texted Bong Go that the abduction operation was over. He replied “OK”. Jim Tan dropped me in our office where my vehicle was parked. I told Jim Tan to call me for any progress on their investigation on Primo Nilles. Several hours later, Jim Tan called me up and informed me that the subject (Primo Nilles) was uncooperative, and denied everything: the whereabouts of his wife (Ana); the identities of others who were involved in the pilferage; and his involvement, despite the torture he underwent. Jim Tan learned that Mamay Tapic and Primo Nilles knew each other. I informed Bong Go thru a cellphone call about the outcome of our group’s interrogation on Primo Nilles, per report to me by SPO2 Jim Tan. Bong Go told me that he would call me back.”

“More than an hour later, Bong Go called back and ordered me in Bisayan dialect, I quote: “Patya na ninyo pare, ilubong para dili na makit-an, clear na na kay Superman.” (You kill him, bro. Bury him so he will forever be missing. Superman has given a go signal). And I replied “OK”. Then, I called up Jim Tan and repeated to him the lethal order of Bong Go. Primo Nilles was killed by our group, was buried in an unmarked grave in Laud quarry, and is still missing to this day. Several days later, Bong Go called me to thank and inform me that he was sending somebody to my location to deliver P50,000 cash money as our reward money from superman Digong Duterte. I, Sonny Buenaventura, and Jim Tan, divided the P30,000 pro rata, and we only declared to SPO1 Furog, PO3 Medina, and Mamay Tapic the P20,000 as our group reward money from superman Digong.”

Not only was Go present in many other meetings of the DDS, in many instances it was he who relayed to the hitmen the kill order of Duterte. But there were instances when Go himself would give the order to kill. That was the case of the killing of the Davao City businessman Christopher Yu. The pretext given to the assassins was Yu was involved in the carnapping activities of his brother Ryan. After Yu was killed, Lascañas learned that Yu was a business rival of Go’s close relative in the importation of second-hand trucks.

Today, using his compassionate malasakit image, Go easily uses his public office to defend Rodrigo Duterte. “Duterte never condoned unlawful killings,” he said in a press release published by the Senate.

Go lies comfortably and conveniently, his malasakit fans believing every lie he says in the name of his Senate position. “For the record, ayaw ko talaga ng POGO” (For the record, I am against POGOs). That is a fact-checked lie. In 2021, Go was one of 17 senators who voted for Republic Act 11590, the law that legalized and regulated Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO). 

“I don’t look like a criminal.” Looks can deceive. Books are not judged by their covers. A wolf can appear docile in sheep’s clothing. – Rappler.com