Police officers behind the killing of 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos during an anti-drug raid in Caloocan City last week should go to jail if found guilty of killing the teen in cold blood, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday.
But Duterte also said that he would be “the last person to condemn” the cops since he is the commander-in-chief of the police and military.
“Better if it’s a ‘rubout’ (set-up), if that is the case, you can be assured they have to answer for it, they have to go to jail,” Duterte told reporters in Malacañang.
“I saw the tapes on TV and I agree that there should be an investigation. Should the investigation point to liabilities by one, two or all, there will be a prosecution and they have to go to jail if convicted.”
Duterte said that after he saw the CCTV footage of Delos Santos’ supposed manhandling, he ordered Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa to arrest the cops involved.
READ: MANILA POLICE SAY THEY SHOT A 17-YEAR-OLD OUT OF SELF-DEFENSE, CCTV SHOWS OTHERWISE
The President, however, said he would not make conclusions or observations “beyond” what he saw in the footage.
Witnesses have reportedly said that before Delos Santos was shot dead, the police gave him a gun and told him to run for his life.
The president said it would be better to stay silent about the case for now. “The most prudent thing for me to do it so to shut up and wait for the result of investigation,” Duterte said.
Another major development in Delos Santos’ case is the autopsy findings of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Forensic Laboratory on the remains of the slain teenage boy.
According to Dr. Erwin Erfe, chief of the PAO Forensic Laboratory, the location of the gunshot wounds to his ears also showed that the minor was already on the ground when he was shot.
There were also no indications that Delos Santos fought back, except for a wound on his stomach.
PNP chief Dela Rosa earlier said that “raw intelligence information” showed that Delos Santos was a drug courier for his father and uncle, an allegation that the boy’s family vehemently denied.
The PNP even presented a witness, Renato “Nono” Loveras, who allegedly did transactions with the boy.
Dela Rosa, nonetheless, said Delos Santos should not have died in the operation even if he indeed had links to the drug trade.
Delos Santos’ death has sparked public outrage and calls for the government to stop its war on drugs, which human rights groups say has already claimed as high as 12,000 lives, a figure that the government publicly disputes.
Duterte’s statements came on the same day about 1,000 people rallied at the People Power Monument along EDSA in Quezon City and protested the killing of Delos Santos and the thousands of others who have been killed in the war on drugs.
Duterte said he was not bothered by the protests. “Let’s have an upheaval. But since I am in government, we are foes… You want to war against government? Go ahead,” he said.
“I am encouraging you to take to the streets. Everybody. Who wants… what? Himagsikan (uprising), fine. Himagsikan is uprising. If you want that, go ahead. You have my blessing. Nobody will stop you in the streets.”
