MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) affirmed the murder conviction of three police officers behind the killing of 17-year-old drug war victim Kian Lloyd Delos Santos.
This year is the ninth Christmas that his family will have to spend without him.
“[W]hen Kian was shot, he was not in a position to defend himself,” a portion of SC’s decision read, as penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez. The SC found police officers Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda, and Jerwin Cruz guilty of murder, sentenced to reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years in prison. They were also ordered to pay the victim’s family P275,000 in damages.
Kian was killed on August 16, 2017 in Baesa, Caloocan City. The witnesses saw officers punch him as he cried and begged to be allowed to go home because he had an exam the next day.
Based on the evidence, the SC said that the officers forced Kian to hold a towel covering what appeared to be a gun and made him stand with his shirt raised to cover his head. The officers dragged Kian toward a dark area near a river. Moments later, Kian was shot multiple times by Oares and Pereda, while Cruz stood guard.
Kian’s case is emblematic of the pattern of killings during the so-called “war on drugs.” The victims of drug-war killings included children from the poorest sectors of the country, painting the circumstances of their death as “nanlaban” (resisted arrest). The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution also cited Kian’s case as proof that Rodrigo Duterte, currently in ICC’s custody in The Hague, committed crimes against humanity of murder.
While this is a court win, child rights advocates under Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns said that the fight for justice did not end with the conviction of three police officers.
“Our demand is simple. We need to hold them accountable, from the police officers who killed Kian up to the mastermind of the anti-poor war on drugs policy of Rodrigo Duterte,” Salinlahi spokesperson Trixie Manalo said in a statement.
The SC ruled that all three elements of muder were present under the Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code which includes the act of treachery or when the victim has no chance to defend themselves and the attacker deliberately chooses the means of the method of attack.
An examination of Kian’s body showed five gunshot wounds, two of which were in the head. The medico-legal officer said that Kian was likely sitting or kneeling when he was shot based on the gunshot wounds, aimed at vital parts.
When the police officers admitted to shooting Delos Santos, they invoked the presumption of regularity in the performance of duty. But the high court rejected their claims: “Even assuming that they were performing their duties as police officers, it is not shown that the killing of Kian is a necessary consequence of the due performance of such duty.”
The SC said that “the killing of a minor could not be considered standard in this operation” and that the “performance of duties does not include murder.”
While the SC affirmed the earlier rulings of Regional Trial Court (RTC) and the Court of Appeals (SC), the SC modified the penalty imposed on police officers, removing the phrase “without eligibility for parole.” They said that such a clause is only applicable when the circumstances justify the death penalty — which they do not see as present in Kian’s case.
Salinlahi called for justice and accountability for all victims of the state violence by the Duterte administration. “Aside from the war on drugs, he also ordered the bombing and forced closure of Lumad schools in Mindanao,” Manalo said.
The Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) and the prosecution called on the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to conclude Duterte’s fitness to stand trial and set the date for confirmation of charges hearing without delay to guarantee the victims’ right to expeditious proceedings.
Read: ‘Feigning cognitive impairments’ | Prosecution, victims urge ICC to proceed with hearing
“It strongly appears that Mr Duterte is feigning cognitive impairments in an attempt to avoid a trial on the merits,” the Prosecution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) stated based on the report from the panel of medical experts. (DAA)
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