Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday tendered his resignation as the deputized representative of the National Police Commission amid a human rights probe of extrajudicial killings in the city.

In his resignation letter, Duterte said he wanted to give the Commission on Human Rights a free hand in their ongoing investigation on the series of unsolved killings in the city. The mayor also terminated his relationship with Task Force Davao with respect to the implementation of security matters.

Duterte on Monday denied under oath that he had a hand in the summary executions, which according to the CHR has claimed the lives of 375 people from 2005 to 2008. He also vowed to resign from his post should the CHR prove that he ordered the murders of suspected criminals in the city.

During his testimony, the mayor urged the CHR to push for amendments to the Juvenile Justice Law, which disallows law enforcers from prosecuting criminal offenders who are below 18. He said the law allows minors to circumvent the law as they could not be detained longer than 24 hours.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said it supports the CHR inquiry into the alleged “unexplained killings” in Davao.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said President Arroyo has directed the Philippine National Police and the military to give CHR their full support to its investigation on the matter. She said the CHR investigation, aside from determining the correct number of cases and pinpointing criminal responsibility for the killings, should also give justice to the victims and their families.

In a television report, CHR chairwoman Lilia de Lima said the unexplained killings, majority of the victims of whom were minors, “is unacceptable.”