First police conviction in Philippine
A Philippine court yesterday sentenced three police officers to up to 40 years in jail for the murder of a 17-year-old high school student, the first to be convicted in President Rodrigo Duterte's drugs war.
The Caloocan City regional trial court declared the three police guilty for the killing of Kian Lloyd delos Santos in August 2017 in a dark, trash-filled alley in a northern suburb in the capital Manila.
"A shoot first, think later attitude can never be countenanced in a civilised society. Never has homicide or murder been a function of law enforcement. The public peace is never predicated on the cost of human life," said the ruling by Judge Roldolfo Azucena.
This was the first case of what human rights advocates say was an extrajudicial killing carried out by state-agents in the 29-month war on drugs, which saw close to 5,000 people dead in police anti-drugs operations.
Police reject allegations that the killings were executions, saying the drug peddlers and users were killed in shootouts, and that they were acting in self-defence.
"We respect the decision of the court. We don't tolerate any erring police officers," said Benigno Durana, national police spokesman, adding the police force "stand fully behind police officers engaged in the drug war, who are doing their jobs within the bounds of the law".
The death of the school boy has stirred unprecedented public attention on what activists say are executions and systematic abuses by police backed steadfastly by Duterte.
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