OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF KIAN DELOS SANTOS 

Today marks the seventh year of one of the unjust and inhumane results of extrajudicial killings and police brutality during the Duterte administration. Kian Delos Santos, a 17-year-old student from Caloocan City, was mercilessly shot dead by three police officers. Officers Arnel Oares, Jeremiah Pereda, and Jerwin Cruz claimed the boy carried a gun and shot at them, leaving them no choice but to shoot back. However, CCTV footage from the area contradicts that claim, showing how the boy was dragged across the street, begging for his life, before he was shot by the officers.

Kian’s last words, “Tama na po, may exam pa ako bukas," give weight to the fact that the corrupt regime’s war on drugs will forever taint our generation. We will always be burdened with the cruel reality that our futures can be stolen by the very people who swore to serve and protect us.

Seven years after Kian’s death, let us be reminded of the harm that was done, physically and psychologically, to the thousand victims, to their families, and to the overall situation of our country. Even though Kian’s murderers are sentenced with reclusion perpetua, we cannot really say that true justice has been served as long as the current administration shrugs its responsibility to seek accountability for the unconstitutional and inhumane extrajudicial killings of Duterte’s term.

Two concerning problems still stand: if we cannot trust the police to protect us, then who will? And if the government simply let the wounds of injustice heal by itself, then when can we really say that justice has been served?

The Voice of UPLB DevComSoc calls that Kian’s death may serve as a yearly reminder that Duterte Legacy is just a sugarcoated term for Duterte Tyranny, an era where lives are taken, dreams of the victims are killed, and human rights of the Filipinos are threatened.

Together, we must continuously demand for justice.

We must never forget.