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An international human rights group on Thursday congratulated three Caloocan City police officers for the murder of a teenager, but expressed doubts about the fact that justice is made because President Duterte had promised to forgive the authorities who would be condemned for his bloody war on drugs.
Malacañang, however, said that Duterte would never tolerate police officers who "intentionally kill".
The Regional Court of First Instance (RTC) of the city of Caloocan said Thursday the M3 Arnel Oares, the M1 Jeremias Pereda and the M1 Jerwin Cruz guilty of the murder of the assassination of Kian Loyd delos Santos, 17 years old , during a raid on the drug on August 16, 2017.
Judge Rodolfo Azucena Jr. of RTC Branch 125 sentenced them to up to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
Reason to suspect
Human Rights Watch (HRW), based in New York, said it considered the court decision as a "triumph of justice and responsibility," but said that Mr. Duterte had promised that he would never allow police and soldiers to go to jail when they were found guilty. the murder of drug suspects.
"There is reason to believe that he will keep his promise," said Brad Adams, director of HRW Asia, in a statement.
Reminding the Malacañang reporters of this promise, President Salvador Panelo's spokesman said the Delos Santos affair was a "murder", meaning "there was an intention to kill".
"I do not think the president is forgiving them," said Panelo.
"What the president said was," If you do it according to your work, in the exercise of your duties, I will help you. . . not when you break the law, "he said.
"We guarantee that the president will never tolerate intentional killings of civilians by men in uniform," he added.
Panelo recalled that the president, in his speeches to Congress, had warned police officers who would abuse their authority in his war on drugs "would have hell to pay".
"Triumph of justice"
He praised the court's decision as a "triumph of justice" and said it showed the country had a "robust justice system".
According to HRW, the judgment showed that Duterte's war on drugs did not spare children.
"[The child victims] were targeted or simply caught in the middle while police raided homes and communities. The authorities have not investigated most of these murders, "Adams said.
HRW has again called for an independent commission to investigate the murders.
"The police [say they have] killed 5,000 during drug operations. This is a large number of deaths that need to be investigated thoroughly and independently, "Adams said.
Vice President Leni Robredo congratulated the Caloocan court on her decision, but said she confirmed that the war on drugs had resulted in innocent victims.
How many are innocent?
"We want to reiterate the question we have been asking from the beginning: how many thousands have been killed [in] the war on drugs [are]like Kian, without fail? said Robredo.
The President of the Commission on Human Rights, Chito Gascon, spoke about the contributions of witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, church workers and human rights defenders to the case. resulted in the conviction of the three police officers.
"We call on the government to intensify its efforts to bring justice to all victims of [extrajudicial killings] by making sure that all the perpetrators are apprehended and charged, "Gascon said in a statement.
The human rights group Karapatan said that the conviction could be a "small victory" in the quest for justice for the victims of extrajudicial executions, but that it 's only one day. acted as a "triumph of the truth about the lies uttered by the police".
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