A year after, justice has remained elusive for the family of slain teenager Kian Delos Santos.
The 17-year-old Delos Santos, a student at Catholic was alleged by the police as a drug courier for his father and uncle. The teenager was shot dead by policemen after he allegedly resisted arrest in Caloocan before dawn of Aug. 16, 2017.
But a CCTV footage later revealed that around two to three policemen were seen dragging a man matching the description of Delos Santos to an alley where he was later found dead.
Witnesses later claimed that Delos Santos, a Grade 12 student, was told to run and given a gun before he was shot.
In a Senate hearing, the policemen said they only learned of Delos Santos' alleged drug links a day after they shot him dead.
The three policemen only recently started presenting evidence for their defense before a Caloocan court, PAO Persida Acosta said in a radio interview.
She added, however, that the prosecution will rebut the officers' defense before the trial is closed.
Acosta also expressed dismay that prosecutors cited the findings of a police autopsy saying Delos Santos was shot only twice and from a distance – which was contrary to PAO's autopsy that the teenager was shot three times, twice at point-blank range.
On Wednesday, Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said the policemen involved in the killing of Delos Santos have been dismissed, while also reiterating the PNP’s commitment to human rights.
"Palagi naman natin binibigyan ng caution or reminders yung mga commanders on the ground na sumunod sa ating POP (police operational procedure) at respetuhin yung karapatang pantao ng bawat Pilipino," Albayalde said.
(We always remind our commanders on the ground to follow our POP and respect the human rights of each Filipino.)
According to police data, at least 4,200 Filipinos have died in the war on drugs since May 2016, adding that most of those were killed after fighting back against authorities.
But human rights groups dispute the PNP data, saying that the death toll is 3 times higher and does not include killings by alleged state-sponsored "vigilantes."