Philippine Police Officers Face Murder Charges Over Teenager’s Shooting

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Justice Department filed murder charges Monday against three police officers in the death of a 17-year-old boy last year, a case that strengthened opposition to President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.

The officers — Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda and Jerwin Cruz — were charged in a lower court in Caloocan city, north of Manila, along with an informant who had erroneously identified the boy, Kian Loyd delos Santos, as a drug pusher.

Witnesses had described seeing delos Santos being dragged away by the officers and finding his body slumped over near a pigsty. That contradicted statements by the police officers, who said the boy had pulled a gun, setting off a shootout in which he died.

The teenager’s death in August ignited public anger and his funeral procession became a protest led by the influential Roman Catholic Church and activists who denounced Duterte’s drug crackdown.

About 4,000 people accused of being drug pushers and addicts have died since Duterte took office in 2016, according to police statistics. Philippine rights groups and Human Rights Watch, however, say the number is much higher — about 12,000 people.

Because of the anger and protests that arose from delos Santos’ killing, Duterte removed the police as the lead agency in the crackdown and installed a civilian-led drug enforcement office.

That move turned out to be temporary. In December, Duterte reinstated the police to lead the drug war.

In filing the charges Monday, the Justice Department cited witnesses who said they had seen delos Santos dragged away and shot at close range.

The department said forensic evidence showed, in “an indisputable conclusion,” that delos Santos had been shot while in a “somewhat kneeling” or “fetal” position.

The department added that the testimonies showed that “there was no unlawful aggression on the part of Kian during the time he was shot and killed.” It also cast doubt on the officers’ assertion that the killing occurred in the course of a legitimate drug operation.

Thirteen other officers who took part in the drug sweep in delos Santos’ neighborhood were cleared. The Justice Department said that the commander of the local police force could not be charged because there was no evidence that he had given an order to kill delos Santos.