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More than a thousand mourners attended a funeral procession in the Philippines capital Manila on Saturday for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage about the country's war on drugs.

MANILA: More than a thousand mourners attended a funeral procession in the Philippines capital Manila on Saturday for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage about the country's war on drugs.

Kian Loyd delos Santos was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark, trash-filled alley in northern Manila, before he was shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

The death of the 17-year old has drawn huge domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims - including my son," Katherine David, 35, whose 21-year old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

Mourners, some of them wearing white shirts displaying the words "Justice for Kian," held flowers and small flags, and placards denouncing the killing, as the procession including vans and motorbikes moved out of delos Santos' home in Caloocan city.

Delos Santos' flower-draped coffin passed slowly through narrow streets on a flat-bed truck with two black and red coloured tarpaulins containing the words "Run, Kian, Run" and "Stop the killings" displayed on each side.

The cortege made a brief stop in front of police precinct where three police officers involved in the killing of Delos Santos were assigned before proceeding to the church.

The parents and lawyers of delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen on Friday.

If accepted, the complaint would follow at least two cases filed last year against police over President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, which has killed thousands of Filipinos, outraged human rights groups and alarmed Western governments.

"We march today to bring Kian to his final resting place and to support the call for justice for all victims of Duterte’s fascist drug war," said Renato Reyes, secretary general of left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation), said in a statement.

"We call for accountability of the police officers directly involved in the killings as well as accountability of the commander-in-chief who sanctioned the killings," Reyes said.

A member of Rise Up, a Manila-based coalition of church-related groups opposing the drug war, told Reuters that families of about 20 victims joined the procession.

David believes the response to Kian's killing marks a turning point in opposite to the drug war.

"There's been a big change. Before, police could kill and nobody paid attention. Now people are starting to show support and sympathy," she said. </s> Mourners call for justice after 17-year-old was killed by police during bloodiest week of President Duterte's drug war.

More than 1,000 mourners attended a funeral procession in Manila for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage over the country's war on drugs.

Crowds chanted for "justice" on Saturday in the Philippine capital in what became one of the biggest protests in the country against President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug drive.

Kian Loyd Delos Santos was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark alley in northern Manila, before he was shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

The death of the 17-year-old has drawn domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims - including my son," Katherine David, 35, whose 21-year-old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

READ MORE: Thousands demand end to killings in Duterte's drug war

Mourners carried placards reading, "Stop the killings," "Police, murderers" and "Justice for Kian" as they marched for about five kilometres from a church near Delos Santos' house to the cemetery where he was buried.

The parents and lawyers of Delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen on Friday.

"Kian was a very good son," Saldy Delos Santos said in a message at the last mass for his son. "The entire community knew him as a good person ... He was begging for his life..They [the killers] probably have no heart."

Richard Heydarian, political science professor from Manila's De La Salle University, said public anger had exploded because of Delos Santos' young age.

"This is a second coming of Duterte's war on drugs and what happened this time is not about the killing of a likely innocent person, but we're talking about the minor who was killed, and the killing of the minor was caught on CCTV," he told Al Jazeera. "That is why you see a huge backlash against the war on drugs."

Public support for the anti-drugs drive had until recently been strong.

"The number one concern for people here is not against Duterte himself, but they feel like he is relying on the wrong agent, which is the national police of Philippines to wage this war," said Heydarian.

"You cannot wage a holy war with unholy men, so what people want here is to clean up the police force and to make sure that within the police forces there is accountability and discipline."

Reporting from Manila, Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan said that there might be a chance that this case, out of the more than 10,000 drug-related killings, would be solved.

"It remains to be seen whether this will change the approach of the president when it comes to his so-called war on drugs," she said, "or if it even will lead to reform within the police institution in this country."

"We march today to bring Kian to his final resting place and to support the call for justice for all victims of Duterte's fascist drug war," said Renato Reyes, secretary-general of left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation), said in a statement.

Bayan criticised the campaign for corrupting the police force "through a system of quotas and financial rewards for police officers".

"We call for accountability of the police officers directly involved in the killings as well as accountability of the commander-in-chief who sanctioned the killings," Reyes said.

Delos Santos was among more than 90 people killed in the bloodiest week in Duterte's anti-drug war since he took office on June 30, 2016.

The case has highlighted the allegations of abuse by police in the anti-drug war, in which at least 3,500 people have been killed over the last year.

Duterte has assured the public that police officers involved in Delos Santos' death would go to jail if found guilty.

"If it was really a rub out, they (police officers) have to answer for it. They have to go to jail. I'm sorry," he said.

Duterte has vowed in the past to protect the police against legal cases filed against them. </s> The department says it 'denounces all forms of violence against our students, teachers, and personnel,' and echoes the call for an impartial investigation

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) on Sunday, August 21, said it condemns the killing of one of its students, Kian Loyd delos Santos, by Caloocan police during an anti-drug operation in the city.

"The Department of Education strongly condemns the shooting of Kian Loyd Delos Santos, a Grade 11 student of Our Lady of Lourdes Senior High School in Valenzuela, by elements of the Caloocan police," the DepEd said in a statement.

The department said it "denounces all forms of violence against our students, teachers, and personnel," and echoed the call for an impartial investigation into Delos Santos' death last Wednesday, August 16.

The 17-year-old allegedly fought back against police during an operation last Wednesday, August 16, but CCTV footage showed otherwise. Eyewitnesses also said the kid was handed a gun by police, and was ordered to pull the trigger and run.

The kid's death has triggered outrage from citizens, politicians, the Church, and many other sectors, and has highlighted once again the bloody war on drugs campaign of the Duterte administration, which has been linked to at least 7,000 deaths, including minors. (READ: Our son, Kian: A good, sweet boy)

"While we acknowledge that law enforcement is an important aspect in the government's comprehensive efforts to battle illegal drugs, ensuring accuracy of information and upholding the rule of law should not be compromised," the department said.

As part of the anti-drug abuse campaign, the department recently announced that it will begin its random drug testing program of students and teachers in public and private high schools in September.

DepEd said this would allow her department to determine the prevalence of drug users among students and teachers and help assess the effectivity of school-based and community-based prevention programs.

However, DepEd said the results will be confidential and won't be an alternate "tokhang" – in reference to the Philippine National Police's Oplan Tokhang. – Rappler.com </s> MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A leader of the dominant Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines has ordered bells to be tolled every night for three months in a northern region to raise alarm over a renewed police crackdown that has left more than 80 drug and crime suspects dead in just a week.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas says church bells will be rung for 15 minutes across his northern religious district starting Tuesday to rouse a citizenry "which has become a coward in expressing anger against evil."

The church move adds to a growing outcry after more than 80 suspects were gunned down by police in metropolitan Manila and nearby Bulacan province in just three days last week, the bloodiest under President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal crackdown.

Jomari (only one name given), a neighbor and friend of slain Kian Loyd Delos Santos, refuses to leave the wake of his friend Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 in Caloocan city north of Manila, Philippines. Kian Loyd, a 17-year-old Grade 11 student, was killed on Wednesday allegedly in a shootout with police. The killing of Kian has sparked protests and condemnation from concerned citizens.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Saldy Delos Santos, father of Kian Loyd, a 17-year-old Grade 11 student, who was killed allegedly in a shootout with police, comforts his son's girlfriend at his wake in their house Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 in Caloocan city north of Manila, Philippines. The killing of Kian has sparked protests and condemnation from concerned citizens. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Saldy Delos Santos, father of Kian Loyd, a 17-year-old Grade 11 student, who was killed allegedly in a shootout with police, describes his son's killing at his wake in their house Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 in Caloocan city north of Manila, Philippines. The killing of Kian has sparked protests and condemnation from concerned citizens. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Protesters display placards during a rally to condemn the recent killings in President Rodirgo Duterte's renewed crackdown on drug offenders which also claimed the life of a minor Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, in Quezon city north of Manila, Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte's renewed crackdown on drug offenders has resulted in some dozens of killings over the past three days alone.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) </s> Netizens express outrage over the death of a Grade 11 student during a drug raid

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of the story said Kian was among 25 killed in Caloocan. The 25 killings happened in Manila, while Kian was among 13 reported dead in Caloocan. We apologize for the error.

MANILA, Philippines – Netizens expressed their outrage on Friday, August 18, over the death of Grade 11 student Kian Lloyd delos Santos, an alleged drug runner who was not on any drug list. Delos Santos was among those killed in the recent rise in police operation casualties.

CCTV footage of the 17-year-old, who did not seem to show any signs of fighting back against the police, made the rounds on social media. This is contrary to the authorities' claim that he had fired a gun at policemen, who in turn fired back in self-defense. (READ: Bishop slams killing of 17-year-old boy in drug war)

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa apologized on the same day to the families of drug suspects killed in police operations, but this did not deter netizens from voicing out using the hashtag #JusticeforKian.

The hashtag rose up the ranks of Twitter's top Philippine trends, along with the phrase "Kian delos Santos." </s> ‘Who needs martial law if our police would behave this way?’ says Kalookan Bishop Pablo David, citing other alleged abuses by the police

MANILA, Philippines – Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David slammed the killing of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year-old student shot by the police after he allegedly fought back during anti-drug operations in Caloocan City.

"This is one very specific case where an innocent individual, who happens to be just a boy, a grade 11 student, you snuff out the future of a child," David said in a phone interview with Rappler on Friday, August 18.

"That really crushes my heart as bishop. I cannot possibly keep quiet about this," said David, the incoming vice president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Police claimed that Delos Santos was a drug suspect who, upon seeing them during anti-drug operations, fired his gun toward the direction of the cops.

Police said they had to shoot Delos Santos back in self defense.

CCTV video and testimonies by witnesses, however, indicated otherwise.

CCTV footage showed policemen dragging Delos Santos, his head covered, to the place where he was eventually shot.

Witnesses interviewed by ABS-CBN also contradicted the police. One of them said it was the police that handed Delos Santos a gun, and ordered him to pull the trigger and run.

The witness also recounted how the police allegedly handed the gun to the 17-year-old.

"Sabi, 'Hawakan mo 'to.' Sabi po ni Kian, 'Ano pong gagawin ko dito?' 'Iputok mo. Tapos tumakbo ka.' Iyon daw po ang pagkakasabi. Tapos si Kian po, umiiyak na po siya," the witness said.

'Is this what the drug war is about?'

The Kalookan bishop said on Friday, "We do believe this is one very specific case of abuse."

David said he also pities the victim's father, who also spoke in an ABS-CBN interview.

"It crushes your heart just listening to this because it's like listening to so many others' frightened testimonies," he said.

David also cited other alleged abuses by the police.

He said that in Navotas, for example, he has received reports of abduction, which "were reported as legitimate police operations."

"But the ones who abducted them were in bonnets," David said in a mix of English and Filipino. "So my natural question is, you mean to say that the bonnet gang and the police are the same?"

"Who needs martial law if our police would behave this way?" said one of the bishops most outspoken against extrajudicial killings. (READ: Bishop slams vigilantes as 'termites,' 'new Judases')

"Are we forgetting that they have not suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, that you cannot just abduct people, you cannot just arrest people, you cannot just enter anybody’s house without a search warrant?"

"It seems there's no rule of law anymore. Is this what the drug war is about? Does it curtail all our civil liberties?" the bishop said.

The killing of Delos Santos comes after simultaneous anti-drug operations on Tuesday, August 15, killed 32 people in Bulacan. A day later, an overnight operation in Manila killed 25.

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella on Friday defended the series of "one-time, big-time" drug raids in Bulacan and Metro Manila.

"This is not a reckless exercise of blood letting. There's a rhyme and a reason in the police operations," Abella said on Friday.

On the death of Delos Santos, Abella said, "That incident, happily, I think is isolated." – Rappler.com </s> Rodrigo Duterte: Philippines funeral turns into protest against the President's war on drugs

More than 1,000 people have attended a funeral procession for a teenager slain by police in the Philippines last week, turning the march into one of the biggest protests yet against President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

The death of Kian Loyd delos Santos drew widespread attention to allegations that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge authorities deny.

He was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark, trash-filled alley in northern Manila, before being shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

Police said they acted in self defence after Mr delos Santos opened fire on them.

Nuns, priests and hundreds of children joined the funeral procession as it made its way from a church to the cemetery where the 17-year-old was buried.

Mr delos Santos' father spoke briefly during a mass to defend his son's innocence and express his anger at the police.

"There's a lot of churches, they should go there."

The parents and lawyers of Mr delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen involved in the incident on Friday.

If accepted, the complaint would follow at least two cases filed last year against police over Mr Duterte's war on drugs, which has killed thousands of Filipinos, outraged human rights groups and alarmed Western governments.

Mr delos Santos' flower-draped coffin passed through a major highway on a small truck decorated with tarpaulins reading "Run, Kian, Run" and "Stop the killings" displayed on each side.

"This is a sign that the people have had enough and are indignant over the impunity that prevails today," Renato Reyes, secretary general of left-wing activist group Bayan, said in a statement.

Mourners, some of them wearing white shirts, held flowers and small flags, and placards denouncing the killing.

A member of Rise Up, a Manila-based coalition of church-related groups opposing the drug war, told Reuters the families of about 20 victims joined the procession.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims — including my son," said Katherine David, whose 21-year-old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

Department of Justice personnel armed with assault rifles were on guard during the procession and outside the church.

Most people in the Philippines support the anti-drug campaign, and Mr Duterte remains a popular leader, but questions are being asked since the death of Mr delos Santos, which came during a spike in killings across the Philippines' main island, Luzon.

The President's communication office reiterated he would not tolerate wrongdoing by law enforcers and called on the public to "trust the justice system under the Duterte presidency".

But bereaved mother Ms David believes the response to Mr delos Santos' killing marks a turning point in opposition to the drug war.

"There's been a big change. Before, police could kill and nobody paid attention. Now people are starting to show support and sympathy," she said. </s> Kian Loyd de los Santos, the 17-year-old killed by anti-narcotics agents as he knelt face down in a dark and dirty alleyway, sparking public outrage over President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, was buried at 2pm on Saturday (Aug 25).

Over 5,000 mourners, many wearing white shirts with the words “Justice for Kian”, joined the funeral march from De los Santos’ home in Caloocan city, north of the capital Manila.

Thousands more lined the roads that led to a cemetery about 10km away. They waited along sidewalks, and on roofs, staircases, bridgeways and overpasses to catch a glimpse of De los Santos’ flower-draped coffin on a flatbed truck flanked with tarpaulins bearing the words “Run, Kian, Run” and “Stop the killings”.

Many of the mourners live in rundown districts where Mr Duterte has always enjoyed popular support. But this time, they joined the chorus demanding justice for De los Santos, a Grade 12 student who was heard crying, “Stop, please! I have a test tomorrow”, as he was being manhandled by three policemen, and just moments before he was shot three times – once in the back and twice in the head.

A middle-aged woman held a placard with the words, “Kian, you are an eye-opener”. Others hung cardboards in front of their houses with the pervading calls of the moment: “Justice for Kian” and “Stop the killings”.

Those who joined in the march carried streamers that, among many messages, reminded everyone: “Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill”.

Others directed their anger at the police force, labelling lawmen as “killers” and “a scourge”.

The cortege stopped at the police precinct where the policemen who killed De los Santos were assigned. A prayer service that doubled as a protest was held there. Only one policeman stepped out to have a look.

De los Santos’ death has drawn huge public attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

The three policemen who killed him during a drug raid early in the evening on Aug 16 said De los Santos shot at them, so they fired back.

But a witness said he saw the three men grab De los Santos outside a shop near his home. They then began slapping and punching the boy until he cried. They put him in a headlock and dragged him away.

A security camera footage showed two of them marching someone through a basketball court. A third man followed. Witnesses identified the one being dragged as De los Santos.

The boy was then taken to a dark, trash-logged alley by a river, near a pigsty. A witness heard burst of gunfire. Moments later, De los Santos was dead.

On Friday, the boy’s parents and public lawyers filed murder complaints against the three policemen involved.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said earlier De los Santos’ death was being “overblown” by the President’s crisis. It was an “isolated case”, he said.

But the Children's Legal Rights and Development Centre , a Manila-based advocacy group, said De los Santos was just one of the 54 minors, aged one to 17, killed since Mr Duterte began a savage crackdown on drugs last year. </s> MANILA, Philippines – The Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs conducted a hearing on August 24 and September 5 on the death of Kian delos Santos, the 17-year-old whom Caloocan police are accused of executing in an anti-drug raid.

Senate Resolution 471 has been filed, expressing the sense to condemn the killing of the Grade 11 student.

The resolution looked into the accountability of the Philippine National Police in the conduct of the campaign against illegal drugs that may have resulted in unnecessary and unjustified deaths.

On October 2, the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs widens their probe, where they included the investigation of the death of two other teenage boys, Carl Arnaiz and Reynaldo 'Kulot' de Guzman, who where also both killed during police operations.

Watch the previous hearings on Kian delos Santos:

August 24, 2017

September 5, 2017

– Rappler.com </s> A Senate committee in the Philippines is addressing the police killing of a 17-year-old student – a case that has drawn widespread condemnation at home and internationally.

Senate President Koko Pimentel and Senator Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, led Thursday’s investigation into the accountability of the Philippine National Police.

Police fatally shot Kian Loyd Delos Santos on August 17 in the capital Manila amid allegations that he was framed by three officers.

Witnesses said police forced the teenager to hold a gun, fire and run.

Delos Santos was one of scores killed over a number of days as police went on a shooting spree, heeding calls by President Rodrigo Duterte to crackdown on suspects and win a nationwide “war on drugs”.

CCTV footage from the Manila suburb of Caloocan showed Delos Santos being carried by two men to a place where his body was later found, raising doubt over an official report that claimed he was shot because he fired at police officers first.

According to the police report, Delos Santos ran when he saw officers approaching him. He then pulled out a gun and opened fire at the policemen, who shot back.

But witnesses told local media that the teenager was unarmed.

Duterte now faces intense scrutiny over the crackdown, which until now had been largely popular in the Philippines.

Even Duterte has said he could not justify the high-profile killing of a high school student. If invetsigations showed police did not follow instructions, they would face justice, he warned.

Thousands have rallied in Manila since the death of Delos Santos, calling for an end to the war on drugs.

Earlier last week, 67 people were shot and nearly 250 arrested in Manila and provinces adjoining the Philippine capital, in what police described as a “one-time, big-time” push to curb drugs and street crime.

Duterte had hailed as “beautiful” the August 15 killings of 32 drug suspects in a 24-hour crackdown, the highest death toll in a single day in his administration’s anti-drug war.

According to police statistics, more than 3,000 suspects have been killed in anti-drug operations since Duterte became president on June 30, 2016.
After the shooting of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year-old student, in the campaign against drugs in the Philippines, thousands of marchers protest in EDSA heeding calls from the Philippine Catholic Church to criticize the drug war.