SC upholds conviction of three Caloocan cops for Kian Delos Santos' murder
The Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of three former police officers from Caloocan City for the killing of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos during a drug war operation in 2017.
In a report by The Philippine STAR, the court affirmed the ruling that Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda, and Jerwin Cruz were guilty of killing the senior high school student as they were conducting an anti-drug operation in the city.
The three were convicted by the Caloocan Regional Trial Court Branch 125 back in 2018. They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years of imprisonment and were also ordered to pay the family of Delos Santos a total of P275,000 in damages.
While cases were also filed against them for illegal drug charges and planting of evidence, the court acquitted them due to the prosecution failing to prove their guilt on these aspects.
Delos Santos' murder took place in the evening of Aug. 16, 2017, when his body was found in a muddy and dark alley near his house with gunshot wounds to his head.
A police report claimed that Delos Santos attempted to escape after noticing that police officers were approaching him. He was said to have pulled out a firearm and fired directly at them, prompting Oares to retaliate in self-defense, resulting in his death.
But witnesses said Delos Santos begged for his life before he was shot, and the neighborhood CCTV footage belied the claims of the police.
His death had led many to express outrage over police brutality and abuse of power, and has since become a call not to allow victims of the government’s drug war to be forgotten.
