CASE OF

KIAN LOYD DELOS SANTOS

(Student 17-year-old,boy)

VS.
CALOOCAN CITY POLICE
(PO3 Arnel Oares, PO1s Jerwin Cruz,Jeremias Pareda, and Chief Insp. Amor Cerillo)
KIAN LOYD DELOS SANTOS PROFILE

Date: August 16,2017

Location: Baranggay 160, Caloocan City, Metro Manila

Type: Shooting

Filmed by: CCTV camera owned by Barangay 160,

Caloocan (partial footage)

Participants: Chief Inspector Amor Cerillo, Police PO3 Arnel Oares, PO1 Jerwin Cruz, PO1
Jeremias Pereda

Deaths: Kian Loyd Delos Santos

Charges: Murder and Torture

Born:May 26, 2000

Died August 16, 2017 (aged 17)

Barangay 160, Caloocan

Resting place: La Loma Cemetery

Education: Our Lady of Lourdes College, Valenzuela

Occupation: Senior high school student

On the evening of August 16, 2017, 17-year-old 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.

Philippine drug war

In accordance with his campaign promise, President Rodrigo Duterte initiated the war on
drugs shortly after he took office on June 30, 2016. As of July 26, 2017, the Philippine
Information Agency reported 68,000 anti-drug operations which resulted in around 97,000
arrests, 1.3 million surrenders, and around 3,500 drug personalities killed in legitimate police
operations. Thousands of others have been killed by vigilantes, which the police have
categorized as "deaths under investigation". The night of August 1415, just prior to Delos
Santos's death, was the "bloodiest night" in the Philippine drug war, where dozens of police
operations resulted in 32 drug suspects killed and more than 100 arrested in the province
of Bulacan.

Kian Loyd delos Santos

Kian Loyd D. delos Santos (May 26, 2000 August 16, 2017) was 17 years old at the time of his
death and was a resident of Barangay 160, Caloocan. Delos Santos was the third of four
siblings.His mother, Lorenza, worked as a domestic helper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while his
father, Zaldy, operated a sari-sari store which was manned by Kian from 5:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
everyday before he went to school.After closing the store at night, he would usually walk
around the block for some small talk with neighborhood friends. At the time of his death, he
was a Grade 11 (senior high school) student at Our Lady of Lourdes College in Valenzuela. His
high school principal stated that Delos Santos was never summoned to his office for any
delinquency or misconduct. According to a classmate and close friend of his, Delos Santos
wanted to become a cadet of the Philippine National Police Academy.

Both Senior Superintendent Chito Bersaluna, the Police Chief of Caloocan, and Chief
Inspector Amor Cerillo, the commander of the local Police Community Precinct, have separately
admitted that Delos Santos was not on their police watch list. However, they believed that he
was a drug runner "based on a statement of another arrested drug suspect". The officials of
Barangay 160, Caloocan also confirmed that Delos Santos was not on their drugs watch list.

On August 26, 2017, a Catholic funeral Mass for Delos Santos was held at 8 a.m., at a parish in
Sta. Quiteria, Caloocan; it was attended by his family and friends, and human rights advocates.
At around 2 p.m., Delos Santos was interred at La Loma Cemetery.

Incident

Barangay 160, Caloocan (in 2016), where the victim lived

At around 8:00 p.m on August 16, 2017, officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) led
by PO3 Arnel Oares, were conducting a "one-time, big-time" anti-illegal drugs operation in
Barangay 160, Caloocan City where Delos Santos lived. During the anti-drug operation, Delos
Santos went missing for almost an hour, which prompted his family to look for him at the
nearest police station but failed to find him there. Several gunshots were then heard.

At 8:57 p.m., Cerillo and another police officer, both in plainclothes, arrived at the hall of
Barangay 160 to report a supposed shootout. In a muddy and dark alley near his house, which
was the site of the alleged encounter, Delos Santos was found in fetal position with gunshot
wounds to his head. Recovered from his corpse were a .45-caliber pistol, four cartridges, and
two sachets of suspected methamphetamine.

Police report
According to the official police report, at around 8:45 p.m, Delos Santos tried to flee when he
noticed the police officers approaching him. He then drew his gun and "directly shot" towards
the police, which prompted PO3 Arnel Oares to fire back in self-defense, killing Delos Santos.
The pistol, cartridges, and two sachets of methamphetamine were then found in Delos Santos's
possession.

According to Cerillo and Bersaluna, a drug dealer that they earlier arrested claimed that Delos
Santos was the mule of "Neneng" Escopino, a local drug dealer on the police watch list.
Witness accounts and CCTV footage
Witnesses claim that Delos Santos was just loitering near his house at around 8:00 p.m., when
two unidentified men grabbed him and led him away. The barangay's CCTVfootage of the
incident shows that at 8:24 p.m., a young man believed to be Delos Santos was being dragged
by two men in plainclothes towards the area where his corpse would be later found. The video
also showed a third man that headed towards the same direction.

Cerillo confirmed that the two men in the video were police officers in plainclothes. He also
clarified that the person being dragged was not Delos Santos, but rather a
police asset. Bersaluna and Cirillo also clarified that police officers are not required to wear
their uniforms during anti-illegal drugs operations.

Two witnesses who approached Dominic Almelor of ABS-CBN News claimed that Delos Santos
was blindfolded by the two men and forced to hold a gun, fire it, and run. Another witness who
approached Saleema Refran of GMA News claimed that Delos Santos begged for his life before
getting shot. Afterwards, the shooters approached the witness and asked him if he knew the
victim, which he denied. The witness later confirmed that the men who were filmed inside the
barangay hall reporting the alleged shootout were the same men who shot Delos Santos.

A 13-year-old witness saw Delos Santos being punched and slapped by four armed men in
plainclothes before he was dragged away.

Delos Santos's uncle, Randy, questioned the police claim that the victim had a concealed
firearm, since his nephew was wearing boxers at that time. Delos Santos's father, Zaldy, also
pointed out that the pistol was recovered from the left hand of his otherwise right-handed son.

Investigation

The four police officers, who were tagged in the shooting of Delos Santos, were relieved from
their posts. An autopsy was conducted on August 20, showed that Delos Santos sustained three
gunshot wounds: the first entry point was at the back of the head, the second entry point was
behind the left ear and the third entry point was inside the left ear.

The family of Delos Santos, on August 25, filed murder and torture charges against police
officers involved in the drug operation.