MANILA, Philippines – The Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs conducted a hearing on August 24 and September 5 on the death of Kian delos Santos, the 17-year-old whom Caloocan police are accused of executing in an anti-drug raid.

Senate Resolution 471 has been filed, expressing the sense to condemn the killing of the Grade 11 student.

The resolution looked into the accountability of the Philippine National Police in the conduct of the campaign against illegal drugs that may have resulted in unnecessary and unjustified deaths.

On October 2, the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs widens their probe, where they included the investigation of the death of two other teenage boys, Carl Arnaiz and Reynaldo 'Kulot' de Guzman, who where also both killed during police operations.

Watch the previous hearings on Kian delos Santos:

August 24, 2017

September 5, 2017

– Rappler.com </s> A Senate committee in the Philippines is addressing the police killing of a 17-year-old student – a case that has drawn widespread condemnation at home and internationally.

Senate President Koko Pimentel and Senator Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, led Thursday’s investigation into the accountability of the Philippine National Police.

Police fatally shot Kian Loyd Delos Santos on August 17 in the capital Manila amid allegations that he was framed by three officers.

Witnesses said police forced the teenager to hold a gun, fire and run.

Delos Santos was one of scores killed over a number of days as police went on a shooting spree, heeding calls by President Rodrigo Duterte to crackdown on suspects and win a nationwide “war on drugs”.

CCTV footage from the Manila suburb of Caloocan showed Delos Santos being carried by two men to a place where his body was later found, raising doubt over an official report that claimed he was shot because he fired at police officers first.

According to the police report, Delos Santos ran when he saw officers approaching him. He then pulled out a gun and opened fire at the policemen, who shot back.

But witnesses told local media that the teenager was unarmed.

Duterte now faces intense scrutiny over the crackdown, which until now had been largely popular in the Philippines.

Even Duterte has said he could not justify the high-profile killing of a high school student. If invetsigations showed police did not follow instructions, they would face justice, he warned.

Thousands have rallied in Manila since the death of Delos Santos, calling for an end to the war on drugs.

Earlier last week, 67 people were shot and nearly 250 arrested in Manila and provinces adjoining the Philippine capital, in what police described as a “one-time, big-time” push to curb drugs and street crime.

Duterte had hailed as “beautiful” the August 15 killings of 32 drug suspects in a 24-hour crackdown, the highest death toll in a single day in his administration’s anti-drug war.

According to police statistics, more than 3,000 suspects have been killed in anti-drug operations since Duterte became president on June 30, 2016. </s> Three police officers suspended as witnesses claim unarmed 17-year-old boy was framed by officials.

Philippine police are under pressure to explain the killing of a 17-year-old high-school student, who has become the latest victim of President Rodrigo Duterte's ruthless war on drugs.

Kian Loyd Delos Santos died on Thursday night in the capital Manila amid allegations that he was framed by three police officers, who witnesses said forced the teenager to hold a gun, fire and run.

CCTV footage from the Manila suburb of Caloocan showed Delos Santos being carried by two men to a place where his body was later found, raising doubt about an official report that said he was shot because he fired at police officers first.

According to the police report, Delos Santos ran when he saw the officers approaching him. He then pulled out a gun and opened fire at the policemen, who shot back.

Witnesses told local media that the teenager was unarmed.

READ MORE: Duterte on 'bloodiest' drug raids: 'That's beautiful'

National police chief Ronald dela Rosa said that if the Grade 11 student did not pose a threat, the officers who shot him on Thursday night would be held accountable.

"I will not allow any police officer to just kill a 17-year-old boy for no reason at all," he told reporters. "Are they that heartless?"

Dela Rosa added: "Just think about it, he is just a kid. If that happened to your sibling? We will investigate it, I assure you."

Metro Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde said the three policemen involved had been relieved of their duties and an investigation would be launched.

Several senators, including known allies of Duterte, expressed outrage about Delos Santos' death and called an investigation on Friday into a spike in the killings of drug suspects in recent poice operations.

"The Philippine National Police, on its misguided war on drugs, is now terrorising our communities and collateral damage is unacceptable," said Representative Edgar Erice.

"Killing the poor and powerless is not the solution to the drug problem when tons of methamphetamine are smuggled in," Senator Francis Pangilinan said in a statement.

Police killed at least 27 people in Manila on the third night of a new push in Duterte's war on drugs and crime, taking the toll for one of the bloodiest weeks so far to 94, according to officals.

Earlier in the week, 67 people were gunned down and nearly 250 arrested in Manila and provinces adjoining the Philippines capital, in what police described as a "One-Time, Big-Time" push to curb drugs and street crime.

President Duterte hailed the recent killing of 32 drug suspects in a 24-hour police crackdown, the highest death toll in a single day in his administration's anti-drug war.

"That's beautiful. If we can only kill 32 every day, then maybe we can reduce what ails this country," Duterte said on Wednesday.

According to police statistics, more than 3,000 suspects have been killed in anti-drug operations since Duterte became president on June 30, 2016. </s> The witnesses are ready to face the Senate should there be an investigation, says Senator Risa Hontiveros

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Risa Hontiveros has given protection to some alleged witnesses in the killing of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year-old student shot by the police after he allegedly fought back during anti-drug operations in Caloocan City. (READ: Our son Kian: A good, sweet boy)

“Nag-take custody nga po yung office ko doon sa ilang mga saksi in coordination po with Bong and Elsa, yung mga magulang ni Kian. At may isa pang institution na tumutulong. Ang primary concern po namin ay yung patuloy na seguridad at proteksyon sa pamilya at mga saksi na maaring tumulong para mabigyan ng hustisya si Kian,” Hontiveros said in an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday, August 20.

The senator, however, refused to give details on the number of witnesses under her custody.

Hontiveros said there is a need to protect the “truth” behind the teenager’s death. Citing Bong, Kian's father, the senator said the family has been receiving threats following public outcry against police’s actions. The father also earlier vowed to fight for his son’s death no matter what.

Caloocan police claimed that Delos Santos was a drug suspect who, upon seeing them during anti-drug operations, fired his gun toward the direction of the cops.

CCTV video and testimonies by witnesses, however, indicated otherwise. CCTV footage showed policemen dragging Delos Santos, his head covered, to the place where he was eventually shot.

Witnesses also contradicted the police, saying it was the latter that handed Delos Santos a gun and ordered him to pull the trigger and run.

Hontiveros said the witnesses are ready to face the Senate should there be an investigation.

"Handa po silang sabihin ang katotohanan na alam nila. At pag-uusapan nila [kasama ang] binubuo naming legal team yung next moves nila. Iniiwan ko po sa kanila, kapag pormal na silang inimbita, na makapagdesisyon. Pero for one, ina-assure ko sila na isang mabuting forum po ang Senado," Hontiveros said.

Senators have pushed for an “impartial” probe into the boy’s death. Administration senators are set to meet on Sunday to discuss their next steps of action.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, the Chief Executive's partymate, said they are preparing a resolution calling for a probe into the matter.

During previous Senate hearings on the spate of extrajudicial killings, Duterte's allies said such killings were neither sanctioned by the government nor the President, who has repeatedly vowed to protect the police no matter what. (READ: Senate ends probe: Neither Duterte nor state sponsored killings) – Rappler.com </s> Mourners call for justice after 17-year-old was killed by police during bloodiest week of President Duterte's drug war.

More than 1,000 mourners attended a funeral procession in Manila for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage over the country's war on drugs.

Crowds chanted for "justice" on Saturday in the Philippine capital in what became one of the biggest protests in the country against President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug drive.

Kian Loyd Delos Santos was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark alley in northern Manila, before he was shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

The death of the 17-year-old has drawn domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims - including my son," Katherine David, 35, whose 21-year-old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

READ MORE: Thousands demand end to killings in Duterte's drug war

Mourners carried placards reading, "Stop the killings," "Police, murderers" and "Justice for Kian" as they marched for about five kilometres from a church near Delos Santos' house to the cemetery where he was buried.

The parents and lawyers of Delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen on Friday.

"Kian was a very good son," Saldy Delos Santos said in a message at the last mass for his son. "The entire community knew him as a good person ... He was begging for his life..They [the killers] probably have no heart."

Richard Heydarian, political science professor from Manila's De La Salle University, said public anger had exploded because of Delos Santos' young age.

"This is a second coming of Duterte's war on drugs and what happened this time is not about the killing of a likely innocent person, but we're talking about the minor who was killed, and the killing of the minor was caught on CCTV," he told Al Jazeera. "That is why you see a huge backlash against the war on drugs."

Public support for the anti-drugs drive had until recently been strong.

"The number one concern for people here is not against Duterte himself, but they feel like he is relying on the wrong agent, which is the national police of Philippines to wage this war," said Heydarian.

"You cannot wage a holy war with unholy men, so what people want here is to clean up the police force and to make sure that within the police forces there is accountability and discipline."

Reporting from Manila, Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan said that there might be a chance that this case, out of the more than 10,000 drug-related killings, would be solved.

"It remains to be seen whether this will change the approach of the president when it comes to his so-called war on drugs," she said, "or if it even will lead to reform within the police institution in this country."

"We march today to bring Kian to his final resting place and to support the call for justice for all victims of Duterte's fascist drug war," said Renato Reyes, secretary-general of left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation), said in a statement.

Bayan criticised the campaign for corrupting the police force "through a system of quotas and financial rewards for police officers".

"We call for accountability of the police officers directly involved in the killings as well as accountability of the commander-in-chief who sanctioned the killings," Reyes said.

Delos Santos was among more than 90 people killed in the bloodiest week in Duterte's anti-drug war since he took office on June 30, 2016.

The case has highlighted the allegations of abuse by police in the anti-drug war, in which at least 3,500 people have been killed over the last year.

Duterte has assured the public that police officers involved in Delos Santos' death would go to jail if found guilty.

"If it was really a rub out, they (police officers) have to answer for it. They have to go to jail. I'm sorry," he said.

Duterte has vowed in the past to protect the police against legal cases filed against them. </s> The Philippines House of Representatives stepped closer to the suppression of human rights in the country by practically defunding a government body tasked to protect the Filipino against human rights abuses, in light of reports of extra judicial killings involving the police.

The lower house passed funding legislation that allocated 1,000 Philippine pesos – US$19.62 – to the Commission on Human Rights for fiscal year 2018. Many believe the House move is in retaliation against the Commission’s public rebuke of the Duterte Administration’s war on drugs, which has reportedly claimed the lives of over 13,000 suspected drug dealers and users across the Philippines – mostly in poverty-stricken areas.

Official records from the Philippine National Police, however, revealed that 3,811 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed in 70,856 anti-drug operations it conducted from July 1, 2016 to August 29, 2017. The rest of the victims were gunned down by civilian vigilantes who apparently felt empowered by President Rodrigo Duterte’s previous statements encouraging police and civilians to “kill criminals.”

In a televised address on June 6, 2016, Duterte said, “Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun ... you have my support. Shoot him [the drug dealer] and I'll give you a medal."

In recent weeks, at least three teenaged boys were allegedly killed in police operations – Kian Delos Santos, 17; Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19; and Reynaldo de Guzman, 14. Delos Santos was killed by police during their anti-drug operation in a Manila suburb, while Arnaiz allegedly exchanged gun shots with cops after trying to rob a taxi driver. De Guzman reportedly was last seen with Arnaiz; his body has yet to be recovered.

The bodies of two more teenaged boys had been recently discovered in northern Philippines last week, one of them, initially suspected to be that of 14-year-old De Guzman but subsequent DNA tests proved otherwise – had 30 stab wounds.

The public and rights advocates did not hide their outrage over the House’s move to appropriate $20 in total 2018 funding for the Commission on Human Rights.

Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement that the depriving the Philippines Commission of an appropriate budget effectively prevents it from delivering on its mandate.

“Commission on Human Rights … is a crucial institution for the Philippines: for human rights protection, the rule of law, accountability. It cannot deliver on its mandate without an appropriate budget, particularly at a time when it is confronted with allegations of massive human rights violations throughout the country, and including, but not only, in the context of the ill-advised , destructive ‘war on drug’,” Callamard said.

She added, “The people of the Philippines deserves a strong independent human rights institution able to monitor, investigate, and report on human rights violations, protect victims and their families, and hold the powerful to account for their abuses of international human rights standards. Instead they are getting a ‘war on drugs’ which, by the President's own account, has failed to curtail addiction rates, while creating a climate of fear and insecurity, feeding impunity, and undermining the constitutional fabrics of the Country.”

Filipino-Australian journalist Cher Jimenez-Cayabyab posted on Facebook, “Now expect more innocent people to die from this government's senseless drug war policy. And when it's your loved one's turn to become this government's next victim there'll be no CHR to help you.”

Manila-based journalist Ernie Reyes said the congressmen’s vote to allocate a 20-dollar budget each for the Commission on Human Rights and the National Commission for Indigenous People speaks volumes about the legislators’ stand on extrajudicial killings. </s> The department says it 'denounces all forms of violence against our students, teachers, and personnel,' and echoes the call for an impartial investigation

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) on Sunday, August 21, said it condemns the killing of one of its students, Kian Loyd delos Santos, by Caloocan police during an anti-drug operation in the city.

"The Department of Education strongly condemns the shooting of Kian Loyd Delos Santos, a Grade 11 student of Our Lady of Lourdes Senior High School in Valenzuela, by elements of the Caloocan police," the DepEd said in a statement.

The department said it "denounces all forms of violence against our students, teachers, and personnel," and echoed the call for an impartial investigation into Delos Santos' death last Wednesday, August 16.

The 17-year-old allegedly fought back against police during an operation last Wednesday, August 16, but CCTV footage showed otherwise. Eyewitnesses also said the kid was handed a gun by police, and was ordered to pull the trigger and run.

The kid's death has triggered outrage from citizens, politicians, the Church, and many other sectors, and has highlighted once again the bloody war on drugs campaign of the Duterte administration, which has been linked to at least 7,000 deaths, including minors. (READ: Our son, Kian: A good, sweet boy)

"While we acknowledge that law enforcement is an important aspect in the government's comprehensive efforts to battle illegal drugs, ensuring accuracy of information and upholding the rule of law should not be compromised," the department said.

As part of the anti-drug abuse campaign, the department recently announced that it will begin its random drug testing program of students and teachers in public and private high schools in September.

DepEd said this would allow her department to determine the prevalence of drug users among students and teachers and help assess the effectivity of school-based and community-based prevention programs.

However, DepEd said the results will be confidential and won't be an alternate "tokhang" – in reference to the Philippine National Police's Oplan Tokhang. – Rappler.com </s> MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A leader of the dominant Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines has ordered bells to be tolled every night for three months in a northern region to raise alarm over a renewed police crackdown that has left more than 80 drug and crime suspects dead in just a week.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas says church bells will be rung for 15 minutes across his northern religious district starting Tuesday to rouse a citizenry "which has become a coward in expressing anger against evil."

The church move adds to a growing outcry after more than 80 suspects were gunned down by police in metropolitan Manila and nearby Bulacan province in just three days last week, the bloodiest under President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal crackdown.

Jomari (only one name given), a neighbor and friend of slain Kian Loyd Delos Santos, refuses to leave the wake of his friend Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 in Caloocan city north of Manila, Philippines. Kian Loyd, a 17-year-old Grade 11 student, was killed on Wednesday allegedly in a shootout with police. The killing of Kian has sparked protests and condemnation from concerned citizens.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Saldy Delos Santos, father of Kian Loyd, a 17-year-old Grade 11 student, who was killed allegedly in a shootout with police, comforts his son's girlfriend at his wake in their house Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 in Caloocan city north of Manila, Philippines. The killing of Kian has sparked protests and condemnation from concerned citizens. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Saldy Delos Santos, father of Kian Loyd, a 17-year-old Grade 11 student, who was killed allegedly in a shootout with police, describes his son's killing at his wake in their house Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 in Caloocan city north of Manila, Philippines. The killing of Kian has sparked protests and condemnation from concerned citizens. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Protesters display placards during a rally to condemn the recent killings in President Rodirgo Duterte's renewed crackdown on drug offenders which also claimed the life of a minor Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, in Quezon city north of Manila, Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte's renewed crackdown on drug offenders has resulted in some dozens of killings over the past three days alone.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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More than a thousand mourners attended a funeral procession in the Philippines capital Manila on Saturday for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage about the country's war on drugs.

MANILA: More than a thousand mourners attended a funeral procession in the Philippines capital Manila on Saturday for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage about the country's war on drugs.

Kian Loyd delos Santos was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark, trash-filled alley in northern Manila, before he was shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

The death of the 17-year old has drawn huge domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims - including my son," Katherine David, 35, whose 21-year old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

Mourners, some of them wearing white shirts displaying the words "Justice for Kian," held flowers and small flags, and placards denouncing the killing, as the procession including vans and motorbikes moved out of delos Santos' home in Caloocan city.

Delos Santos' flower-draped coffin passed slowly through narrow streets on a flat-bed truck with two black and red coloured tarpaulins containing the words "Run, Kian, Run" and "Stop the killings" displayed on each side.

The cortege made a brief stop in front of police precinct where three police officers involved in the killing of Delos Santos were assigned before proceeding to the church.

The parents and lawyers of delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen on Friday.

If accepted, the complaint would follow at least two cases filed last year against police over President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, which has killed thousands of Filipinos, outraged human rights groups and alarmed Western governments.

"We march today to bring Kian to his final resting place and to support the call for justice for all victims of Duterte’s fascist drug war," said Renato Reyes, secretary general of left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation), said in a statement.

"We call for accountability of the police officers directly involved in the killings as well as accountability of the commander-in-chief who sanctioned the killings," Reyes said.

A member of Rise Up, a Manila-based coalition of church-related groups opposing the drug war, told Reuters that families of about 20 victims joined the procession.

David believes the response to Kian's killing marks a turning point in opposite to the drug war.

"There's been a big change. Before, police could kill and nobody paid attention. Now people are starting to show support and sympathy," she said.
The Philippine senate investigates the shooting of a 17-year old male student seemingly connected to the ongoing drug war.