Three Philippine policemen were sentenced on Thursday to decades in prison for murdering 17-year-old Kian delos Santos during an anti-narcotics sweep, a first conviction of officers carrying out President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
Duterte has vowed to pardon authorities involved in his bloody crackdown, but even he refused to defend the 2017 killing of Delos Santos in a dank alley near his house in Caloocan City—which helped spark rare protests against the campaign.
Police said the 17-year-old was a drug courier who fired at them while resisting arrest. However, CCTV footage showed two of the policemen dragging the unarmed boy moments before he was shot dead.
Delos Santos’ family erupted in tears in the cramped Caloocan courtroom after PO3 Arnel Oares, PO1 Jeremias Pereda, and PO1 Jerwin Cruz were found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of killing Delos Santos in August 2017.
Judge Rodolfo Azucena Jr. of the Caloocan regional trial court Branch 125 sentenced the three suspects to reclusion perpetua or 20 to 40 years in prison with no possibility of parole. He also ordered them to pay the victim’s family P100,000 civil indemnity, P100,000 moral damages, P45,000 actual damages and P100,000 exemplary damages including interest on all damages.
“I feel so happy because this proves that my son was innocent and was never involved in drugs,” Delos Santos’ mother, Lorenza, told reporters.
“[Policemen] can be jailed for life if they do not stop their abusive practices,” she added.
Drug war critics hailed the conviction as an example of justice and accountability, which they said have been rare since Duterte unleashed the campaign to rid the Philippines of narcotics in 2016.
Since then police say they have killed nearly 5,000 alleged drug users and pushers who fought against arrest, while rights groups say the true toll is at least triple that and may amount to crimes against humanity.
Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch, said: “This is a warning to the Philippine National Police that they better follow due process and respect the rights of suspects.”
Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo hailed the guilty verdict as “a triumph of justice” and said the President would not pardon the convicted policemen.
He added that the conviction showed that the country has “a robust and working justice system, contrary to what this administration’s detractors are depicting.”
Panelo said Duterte, who moved for the immediate relief, arrest and detention of the erring policemen, had closely monitored the Delos Santos’ case upon seeing footage of his killing.
“This shows that President Duterte will not tolerate any wrongdoing by men in uniform,” he added.
The government has argued a preliminary probe of the drug war killings launched by the International Criminal Court is unjustified because the nation’s justice system is functioning.
Rights advocates agreed the decision was important, but noted that it only involved low-ranking policemen.
“Who gave the orders? Was this part of a policy? These questions remain unanswered,” rights lawyer Romel Bagares said.
Duterte and his drug war are backed by many Filipinos fed up with high crime rates and a slow-moving judicial system.
But the death of Delos Santos, as well as of two other Manila teenagers accused of robbing a taxi driver, triggered rare street protests in 2017 and highlighted concerns about police abuse.
Days after the killing Duterte said in a speech: “It was really bad. That was really not performance of duty. Do not commit a crime.”
It led to Duterte briefly suspending police participation in the drug crackdown for a second time.
The first occasion was in January last year after narcotics police officers were arrested for the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean businessman in 2016.
However, in both instances the police were reinstated in the campaign without major reforms.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra lauded the prosecutors for successful prosecution of the Delos Santos murder case, saying this proved that the mechanism for accountability in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is in place and effective.
“This conviction debunks the myth that there is a culture of impunity in the government’s war against drugs… We will continue to dispense justice and let the hammer fall where it should fall,” Guevarra said in a statement.
READ: Kian's parents promised swift probe on son's death
He also said the conviction should serve as a warning to law enforcers that the rule of law and due process must always be observed.
The Public Attorney’s Office provided legal assistance to Delos Santos family.
Delos Santos was slain on the night of Aug. 16, 2017, during a “One Time, Big Time” operation of the Caloocan City police. Police tagged him as a drug runner.
Police earlier claimed that Delos Santos fought back but CCTV footage showed him being dragged by police officers toward the Tullahan River, where he was later found dead in a kneeling position.
The uncle of the slain teenager, Randy delos Santos, urged other families with similar cases to come forward.
“This shows they should not be afraid. We now have an example,” he said in Filipino in an interview with GMA News TV. “Our laws are working.”
He thanked the prosecution team and the PAO, which have been with the family since the trial began and ensured that justice was done.
Senator Grace Poe said the verdict showed that “justice is on hand, not just for the young Delos Santos, but for the other dubious deaths linked to the drug war.”
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said this was an important victory for justice and to all those fighting to put an end to the impunity of killing.
“This is a light in the darkness,” she said.
Despite the gruesome climate of killing and impunity in the country, she said the verdict sends the message that there is hope and justice.
She said the President cannot wash his hands of these killings any longer, and his apologists cannot play deaf, dumb and blind in the President’s defense.
Through his words and endless provocation, President Duterte set into motion the killing of thousands, she said.
She also called on the honest men and women of the Philippine National Police to help stop the climate of killing in the country.
“I know many of you are honorable and patriotic. I know many of you have worked hard to professionalize the police force. And I know many of you are hurting from the actions of a few corrupt and abusive within your ranks. Let us stop this madness. Let Kian be the last name we will see in the list of EJKs under the Duterte administration,” she said.
Senator Leila de Lima, under detention on drug charges, said the guilty verdict was an “oasis for justic seekers in an otherwise wasteland of human wrongs.” With Rio N. Araja and AFP
