Philippine National Police chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar assured that the PNP was not in the mandate of the PNP to kill drug suspects.
Eleazar said it “has never been the policy of the PNP to kill in its anti-illegal drug operations.”
“Malinaw din naman ang instruction sa atin ng Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte na gawin kung ano ang nakasaad sa batas subalit kung nalalagay na sa alanganin ang buhay ng pulis ay dapat proteksyunan namin ang aming sarili,” he said.
(President Rodrigo Duterte’s instruction is clear — that we should always follow the law, but at the same time, we have to defend ourselves if our lives are in grave danger.)
On Monday, the Commission on Human Rights said there are still drug killings four years after Kian delos Santos was killed in an anti-drug operation in Caloocan City.
On the evening of August 16, 2017, a 17-year-old Filipino student named Kian Loyd delos Santos was fatally shot by police officers conducting an anti-drug operation in Caloocan, Metro Manila. The case became controversial when the official police reports differed from witness accounts and CCTV footage.
Two days after the killing of delos Santos, Arnaiz and de Guzman went missing from their Cainta, Rizal, residence. Their bodies were later found with Arnaiz reported having been shot dead by police while de Guzman was stabbed 30 times and found in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.
Eleazar: PNP has no policy to kill drug suspects
The PNP chief admitted that the killing of delos Santos “was one of the lowest points of the PNP.”
He added the incident “also showcased the strong resolve of the police organization to clean our ranks and initiate aggressive reforms to further institutionalize transparency and accountability.”
“Napanagot na natin ang mga pulis na nasa likod ng pagpatay kay Kian delos Santos at patuloy pa rin ang agresibo naming kampanya laban sa mga tiwali sa aming hanay at patunay dito ang mahigit limang-libong pulis na natanggal na sa serbisyo simula noong 2016,” he added.
(We were able to hold accountable the policemen behind the killing of Kian delos Santos, and we continue our aggressive campaign against erring police officers. As a result, more than 5,000 policemen have been dismissed from service since 2016.)
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