Four years after Kian de los Santos slay, CHR says drug killings still persist

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Monday said killings connected to the government's drug war persist, four years after 17-year-old Kian delos Santos was killed by policemen during an anti-drug operation.

"Years after Kian's death, killings continue to persist," said the human rights body spokeswoman Jacqueline de Guia in a statement.

On August 16, 2017, Kian was shot dead by policemen after he allegedly fought back during an anti-drug operation in Caloocan City. However, CCTV footage showed police dragging the teenager to a dark alley where he was later found dead.

A year after the incident, three police officers responsible for the killing were convicted of murder by a Caloocan City court. 

However, the CHR lamented that unlike Kian's case, some drug cases are still undergoing investigation, and only a few of them are reach the courts.

De Guia also said the UN Human Rights Office has consistently urged the Philippine government to address the widespread and systematic killings of suspected drug suspects.

The CHR repeated its call to the government to uphold the right to life by seeking truth behind the numerous murders and other human rights abuses in the country linked to the drug war.

"We must continue to assert the value of human life and dignity, and cease regarding others as mere collateral damages in pursuit of public peace," de Guia said.

Nevertheless, CHR said it would coordinate with the government in probing cases of human rights violations as it reiterates its reminder to stop killings.

"Today, as we remember the 4th death anniversary of Kian, we echo our call: Itigil ang patayan (Stop the killings)," de Guia said.

The Department of Justice is leading a panel of government agencies, including law enforcement units, in reviewing 5,655 anti-drug operations that resulted in deaths to see whether to file charges against the police officers involved.

In his report to the United Nations Human Rights Council last February, Guevarra said the panel’s preliminary findings showed that law enforcement agents asserted that the subject of the anti-drug operations resisted arrest or attempted to draw a weapon and fight back.

However, the panel found out that there was no full examination of the weapon recovered, no verification of its ownership undertaken, and no request for ballistic examination or paraffin test was pursued. —Consuelo Marquez/KBK, GMA News