Furore over killing of teen amid war on drugs

MANILA: The Philippines police are under pressure to explain the killing of a highschool pupil after the 17-yearold became one of up to 91 people shot dead this week in an escalation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

Television channels aired CCTV footage that showed Kian Loyd Delos Santos being carried by two men to a place where his body was later found, raising doubt about an official report that said he was shot because he fired at police first.

Witnesses told the ABSCBN channel that the teen did not have a gun and officers at the scene handed him one, asked him to fire it and run.

National police chief Ronald dela Rosa said that if the Grade 11 pupil did not pose a threat, the officers who shot him on Thursday night would be held accountable.

“Just think about it, he is just a kid. If that happened to your sibling?” he said on GMA TV. “We will investigate it, I assure you.”

Metro Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde said the three officers involved had been relieved of duty and an investigation would be launched into the incident.

Police killed 27 in Manila on the third night of a new push in Duterte’s war on drugs and crime, taking the toll for one of the bloodiest weeks to 94, official police reports, witnesses and media reported.

Earlier in the week, 67 were gunned down and up to 250 arrested in Manila and provinces adjoining the Philippines capital, in what police described as a “One-Time, BigTime” push to curb crime.

The spike in killings drew condemnation from Vice-President Leni Robredo, who belongs to a party opposed to Duterte.

Branding it “something to be outraged about”, she has been a constant critic of the crackdown that has killed thousands of Filipinos and caused international alarm since Duterte took office.

The term “One-Time, BigTime” has been used by police to describe a co- ordinated drive in crime-prone districts, usually slums or low-income areas, often with additional officers. – Reuters