Volatile Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte continues to remain uncharacteristically silent in the face of allegations he headed the so-called 'Davao Death Squad" that allegedly murdered over 1,000 persons when Duterte was Mayor of Davao City on the island of Mindanao.

The man who cursed U.S. President Barack Obama as a "son of a whore" on news the American planned to question him on human rights hasn't said a word or made a statement to refute explosive allegations by one of his former hitmen who essentially accused Duterte of mass murder before the world.

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He also called Pope Francis a "son of a whore" when Duterte's car was stalled in traffic in Manila during a visit of the pontiff to the Philippines in January 2015.

Edgar Matobato, 57, a self-confessed hired killer, said he murdered or kidnapped some 50 persons as part of this death squad that takes its orders from Duterte and Duterte's son, Paolo, who is currently vice-mayor of Davao City.

Speaking before a committee of the Philippine Senate set-up to investigate the astounding number of killings in Duterte's two month-old war on drugs, Matobato also said he saw Duterte personally shoot to death in 2007 an agent of the government's National Bureau of Investigation who ran afoul of the mayor.

"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost every day," said Matobato.

Matobato claimed he heard Duterte order some of the killings. He detailed at least a dozen attacks and murders involving Duterte and his son, Paolo, between 1993 and 2014.

Matobato recounted grisly details of some of the murders carried out by Duterte's death squad. One victim was fed alive to crocodiles while four other victims were strangled to death; their bodies cut up and dumped into the sea weighted down by hollow blocks.

Not all those killed were alleged drug peddlers or drug addicts, said Matobato. Others were political foes of Duterte.

One of these was Jun Pala, a radio announcer who was an outspoken critic of Duterte. A hitman shot Pala dead on orders of Duterte, claims Matobato.

Speaking under oath, Matobato also claimed the death squad mostly consisted of policemen, former communist rebels and militiamen like himself. This gang of killers mostly murdered criminal suspects and personal enemies of the Duterte family between 1993 when Duterte became Davao City and 2014 when Matobato left the group.

These men drew pay from the Davao City government that arranged for their fictitious employment as city employees and paid them from city funds. In the Philippines, these supposed government employees are called "ghost employees."

Matobato said he left because he grew sick and tired of the relentless spate of murders. He said he told the group of his intention to leave.

He was then kidnapped, tortured and would have been murdered had he not managed to escape. He has been in hiding since 2014 and only surfaced to testify before the Senate committee on justice and human rights.

This committee is headed by one of Duterte's most high profile and prominent critics, Senator Leila de Lima. De Lima was the former justice secretary in the administration of former Philippine president Benigno Simeon Aquino.

De Lima, however, is herself under investigation by Duterte's allies in the Philippine Congress for allegedly being a big time drug boss.

Matobato also said Duterte ordered the death squad to murder de Lima when she was in Davao in 2009 as head of the Commission on Human Rights investigating murders attributed to the death squad. He told the surprised de Lima she only escaped death because her group decided to visit a different place from the one where the ambush was set-up.

Duterte's chief legal counsel, Atty. Salvador Panelo, said he saw no reason for the President to respond to statements of a "perjured witness." He said Duterte has chosen not to respond to Matobato's allegations because "the lies are so obvious."

TagsRodrigo Duterte, Davao Death Squad, Mindanao, Edgar Matobato, Paolo Duterte, Leila de Lima