Kian's younger sister remembers him as a dutiful, reserved teen

Sherly delos Santos did not get to say goodbye to her brother Kian before he was shot to death in an alley during an anti-drugs operation on August 16.

The 15-year-old Sherly told GMA News Online on Monday at Kian's wake that their last moments together were spent doing chores.

"Hapon po iyon. Naglilinis lang po kami ng bahay. Kaka-uwi lang namin ng school," Sherly recounted.

Kian had a lot of responsibilities in their household. Whenever his father Zaldy wasn't around, it was Kian's job to keep Sherly safe.

He took his sister to school every morning, and he waited at least four hours so he could take her home. “Twelve pa ako umuuwi, tapos siya, four pa," explained Sherly.

It was also the 17-year-old Kian's responsibility to open and tend the family's school supplies shop at the foot of their house.

The store was later cleared to make room for Kian's wake.

Sherly said Kian was used to being alone in the store, fiddling with his cellphone all by himself. “Mas gusto niya ng tahimik," she recalled.

Their neighbor JB, who was a friend and a brother to the siblings, remembered how he always saw Kian sitting in the store for hours on end without complaint.

JB was unaware of the anti-drug operation in their neighborhood, nor of Kian's killing when he went by their house that day.

“Sobrang bait po kasi ng bata," he said. He shared that Kian had simple joys, such as eating "kwek-kwek" and "fishballs" for dinner, despite loved ones pressing him to eat a proper meal.

Standing at the foot of the stairs beside Kian's casket, Sherly smiled at the thought of the times she and her brother would annoy and tease each other.

“Palabiro po kasi 'yun eh, lagi po siyang mapang-asar. Kapag po nag-aasaran po, 'yung tawanan po ganun," she said.

“Sobrang mabiro, sa pamilya, sa kapitbahay, sa mga kapatid, sobrang mabait," echoed JB.

"Kaya napaka-imposible nung mga paratang nila dun sa tao," he added.

Kian's two other siblings were already married and had families of their own. His OFW mother, Lorenza, flew in from the Middle East when she learned of Kian's death.

Lorenza attempted to be a host to the crowd that had gathered to protest her son's killing.

However, all she could manage was to sit motionless and silent at the foot of Kian's casket. "Wala akong boses, daghang salamat na lang," she mouthed.

Lorenza had lost her voice "sa kakaiyak" Sherly explained.

The wake was scheduled to last until the next week, though there was still no definite date for the interment.

The hundred or so protesters who had gathered at the delos Santos home called on President Rodrigo Duterte and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to take responsibility for Kian's death.

Police claimed that they shot and killed Kian because the boy had opened fire on them. However, CCTV footage suggested that Kian was very much alive when he was in police custody. Eyewitnesses had said as much.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa nevertheless insisted that the teen was a drug criminal, and that Kian's family members were guilty of drug crimes as well.

An autopsy revealed that the teenager had at least two gunshot wounds—one in the head, another on his back.

The PNP's Internal Affairs Service, the Department of Justice, and the National Bureau of Investigation have launched separate investigations on the 11th grader's killing.

The Senate, who condemned the sharp rise in drug-related killings in Bulacan and Camanava the past week, was also looking into the killing.

The three Caloocan police officers involved in the killing had meanwhile been relieved from their posts, along with their precinct commander. Caloocan City's police chief, Senior Superintendent Chito Bersaluna, was also relieved.

Duterte said on Monday night that he would let the police officers go to jail should it be proven that they were liable for Kian's death.  — DVM/KG, GMA News