11 additional cops implicated in Kian’s death refute charges
Eleven of the 12 additional policemen accused by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) of participation in the killing of teenage student Kian Loyd delos Santos last August asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday to dismiss the criminal charges against them.
Two separate joint counter-affidavits were submitted by the policemen who showed up at the continuation of the preliminary investigation hearing to personally subscribe to their written defense.
Police Officers 2 Arnel Cañezares, Fernan Cano and Diony Corpuz, and Police Officers 1 Silverio Garcia Jr., J-Rossilini Lorenzo, Christian Joy Aguilar and Myrldon Yagi said the complaints must be junked since some of them were on sick leave or staying in the barangay hall during the anti-drug operation that took Delos Santos' life.
Police Officers 1 Reynaldo Dan Blanco Jr., Ceferino Paculan, Erwin Romeroso and Ferdinand Claro said they were not at the crime scene because they were still at the barangay hall making the proper coordination for the anti-drug operation.
They said the complainants and spouses Saldy and Lorenza, through the PAO, should prove that there is conspiracy among all the 16 respondents in the murder and torture complaints.
Police Officer 1 Ronald Herrera failed to subscribe to his counter-affidavit due to a court hearing, according to the policemen's counsel Oliver Yuan.
The PAO will submit its reply to the counter-affidavits on Wednesday. The cops, in turn, will file rejoinder affidavits on Friday.
The three-man panel of prosecutors said it will try to come up with a resolution on the complaints by next month.
Also named respondents in the complaints were former Caloocan City Police Community Precinct 7 commander Chief Inspector Amor Cerillo, Police Officer 3 Arnel Oares, the cop who allegedly shot Delos Santos to death, Police Officer 1 Jerwin Cruz, and Police Officer 1 Jeremias Pereda.
Delos Santos died in one of the bloodiest weeks in the government's war on illegal drugs with Oares' group claiming he was a drug runner who opened fire on them on August 16 to evade arrest.
CCTV footage, forensic analysis on Delos Santos' body and the crime scene, and accounts of witnesses appear to contradict the cops' claims, sparking public outrage over the anti-drug campaign, which has already claimed thousands of lives since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in June last year. — RSJ, GMA News
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