Kian delos Santos, Carl Arnaiz and Reynaldo de Guzman were three teenagers who were killed on August 16 to 18, 2017, during the course of the Philippine drug war.
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 to have been shot dead by police while de Guzman was stabbed 30 times and found in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.
Background
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 14–15, 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 Dogillo 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, Saldy, operated a sari-sari store that Kian minded from 5:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon every day 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. Delos Santos was also in favor of the government's war on drugs, according to another classmate.
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 hundreds of other people, including human rights advocates. At around 2 p.m., Delos Santos was interred at La Loma Cemetery.
Incident
At around 8:00 p.m PST 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 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., C/Insp. Amor 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.