After initially denying it, two of three cops captured on CCTV dragging a person down the alley where he was killed, admitted it was in fact 17-year-old Kian delos Santos in the video.
Internal Affairs Inspector Alfegar Triambulo told reporters yesterday, “the two police officers admitted it was them in the video and the person they were dragging was Kian. This is inconsistent with what they said previously that the person in the video was an informant.”
He said that there would be an investigation to determine if the police executed delos Santos in the anti-drug operation last week.
READ: Manila police say they shot a 17-year-old out of self-defense, the CCTV shows otherwise
“Their job is to arrest suspects and not kill them. It’s clear and apparent that there have been lapses in duty and we will recommend that charges are filed against the officers,” Triambulo 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.
President Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday that he would support the filing of charges against the officers.
“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.”
READ: Duterte: If convicted of killing teen, cops would ‘have to go to jail’
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.
With reports from ABS-CBN News.
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