PAO wants to include in Kian case all cops involved in Caloocan raid

MANILA, Philippines – Public Attorneys Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta said on Thursday, September 14, that she plans to include in the complaint on the Kian delos Santos killing all policemen of Caloocan included in the one-time, big-time raid conducted by the city police on the night the teenager died.

“We want to include them as respondents in the case and it will be up to the panel to decide,” Acosta said on Thursday as the Department of Justice (DOJ) started the preliminary investigation into the slay case of Delos Santos, who was killed by Caloocan police conducting a drug raid. (READ: Caloocan cop, suspect killed in one-time, big-time operation)

Acosta also asked the state prosecutors to summon the records of the Philippine National Police–Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) as the first step to identifying the other policemen who participated in the one-time, big-time operations.

Delos Santos’ parents Saldy and Lorenzana attended the first hearing on Thursday where they subscribed to their complaint against Caloocan police station 7 commander Chief Inspector Amor Cerillo and the team that conducted the raid, Police Officer 3 Arnel Oares, and Police Officers 1 Jeremiah Pereda and Jerwin Cruz.

Acosta also presented 7 of their 16 witnesses in the Delos Santos case. (READ: How the PNP’s one-time, big-time operations work)

Among them is a witness who saw Delos Santos with the police before he was shot dead.

The minor witness whose custody is being fought over by PAO, DOJ, and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David was also present. The witness and her father, who has been freshly bailed out of a drug case, is still in the custody of Bishop David.

“We are confident that we filed an airtight case based on the statements of our witnesses and forensic evidence,” Acosta said.

PAO’s complaint for murder and torture is consolidated with the complaint of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) which concluded that the policemen murdered Delos Santos and planted evidence of drugs. 

The case is handled by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Tofel Austria, Assistant State Prosecutor Amanda Garcia, and Associate Prosecution Attorney Moises Acayan.

Respondents were given until September 25 to submit their counter-affidavits. Failure to submit on deadline will result in the prosecutors submitting the case for resolution. – Rappler.com