MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said he is “hopeful” that the parents of slain teenager Kian delos Santos would not “compromise” the legacy of their son.

Drilon made the statement after Saldy and Lorenza delos Santos met with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang amid public outrage over the teenager’s death in the hands of Caloocan police.

“One life taken is one life too many. In the case of Kian delos Santos, it has become a symbol of extrajudicial killing. We are hopeful that the parents of Kian delos Santos will not compromise [the legacy] their son has created,” Drilon said in a Rappler Talk interview on Friday, September 1.

“Yes, it sparked something. As I said, his death became a symbol of how unjust the drug war has gone over the past several months. I don’t know how many kids whose lives and dreams were naught because of these killings,” Drilon added.

The Public Attorney’s Office, under the Department of Justice, is handling the teenager’s case.

Drilon has expressed alarm over the “biased” statements of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on the case, which were seemingly meant to “protect” the policemen involved in the operation. He has since welcomed the Ombudsman’s move to conduct its own probe into the boy’s killing.

Meeting with Duterte won’t affect case

Drilon said the parents’ meeting with Duterte would not affect their son’s case.

The senator, a former justice chief, explained that the criminal case filed against the policemen does not need a private complainant.

Should there be an affidavit of desistance from the parents, the case could still go on. After all, Drilon said, it is a criminal offense.

“It won’t affect the case, technically. I’m not sure if they are witnesses. This is not what we call a crime which would need a private complaint. This is a crime, a public crime, meaning that is why the title is ‘People of the Philippines’ because the plaintiff is the people represented by the prosecution,” Drilon said.

“Therefore, theoretically, the affidavit of desistance will not affect the prosecution,” he said.

Aguirre earlier admitted the Delos Santos couple to the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program. The Senate, for its part, began its probe into Delos Santos’ death.

During the first Senate hearing, it was revealed that the bullet found inside Delos Santos’ body came from the gun of Police Officer 3 Arnel Oares, the cop who led the anti-drug operation.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had filed a complaint for murder and planting of evidence against Caloocan City policemen.

Aguirre said the case may be consolidated with the earlier complaint filed by the PAO for murder and torture. – Rappler.com