Kian delos Santos' uncle says he lost job after Bato falsely linked him to drugs

The uncle of Kian delos Santos, the 17-year-old killed by the police during the war on drugs of the Duterte administration, said Monday that he lost his job and was banished by the community due to the false claim of then Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa that he was involved in the illegal drugs. 

“Napatunayan po namin sa korte na si Kian ay hindi nanlaban at pinatay. Intensyon ng pinatay ng mga pulis. Mga ilang araw, habang nakaburol ang aking pamangkin, naglabas po ng kasinungalingang statement ang pamunuan po ng PNP (Philippine National Police), pinamumunuan ng ating kagalang-galang na Senador, Bato dela Rosa. Ang sabi po doon sa statement ay ‘yung tatay daw po at ‘yung uncle [ni Kian delos Santos] ay kilala sa aming lugar na siga, kinatatakutan at nagbebenta ng droga, at ginagamit po si Kian delos Santos bilang tagapagbenta nito,” Randy delos Santos said during the Day 1 of the Senate probe on the drug war.

(We have proven before the court that Kian was killed by the police. And during his wake, the PNP, then led by now Senator dela Rosa, released a statement containing a lie. It said that Kian's father and uncle are known tough guys in the area, drug traffickers, and using Kian to sell drugs.)

He said they are known in their area as members of a religious group.

“Tagapangulo, kilala po kami sa aming lugar pero hindi po konektado sa iligal na droga. Kilala po kami bilang mga Saksi ni Jehovah na nagbabahay-bahay, kumakatok sa mga pintuan, at nagbabahagi ng salita ng Diyos. Tinanggal po ako sa trabaho [dahil roon]. Binalot ng takot ang aming pamilya dahil kami po ay namarkahan na nagbebenta ng droga,” Delos Santos added.

(We are known in our place but not as connected to illegal drugs. We are known as members of Saksi ni Jehovah who goes house-to-house to evangelize. I was fired because of that statement. Our family was stricken with fear because we were marked as drug traffickers.) 

Delos Santos, serving as the field coordinator of Project Paghilom which is a support group for the families of the victims of the drug war, also lamented why police officials involved in the killing of drug suspects were never investigated during the Duterte administration.

“We [in Project Paghilom] are composed of 312 families. All of us our victims, families of  people who were killed in their houses. Nobody was investigated for these killings, and the police are even making the families sign an affidavit that they won’t be suing the police for the deaths of their loved ones,” he said.

In response to Delos Santos, Dela Rosa said “I cannot remember, Mr. Chair.” 

Police as source of illegal drugs?

Christina Gonzales, whose husband Joselito Gonzales was found dead in a morgue after police took him from their house, told the senators that they used to sell drugs peddled by the police themselves.

“Ang alam po ng lahat, nagbebenta po kami ng droga. Opo, totoo po 'yun. Pero po ‘yung ibinibenta po namin galing po talaga po sa pulis. Kaya po malakas din po ang loob namin noong mga panahon na ‘yun na magbenta dahil nga po galing sa kanila. Kung baga, huwag daw po kami matakot na mahuli o ano nga po dahil nga po galing sa kanila,” she said, adding that they peddled illegal drugs from 2015 until her husband was killed in July 5, 2016.

(Yes, we sell illegal drugs. That's true, but we do that because the drugs came from the police. That is why we are so brazen. They said we have nothing to fear because the drugs came from the police.)

“Pero nung nga po nasabing maglilinis na nga daw po, sinabihan po nila ‘yung asawa ko na paalisin ko na daw po ng Antipolo kasi nga maglilinis na nga daw po noong mga panahon noong 2016. Pero hindi po umalis 'yung asawa ko. Dahil ang sabi niya po, baka daw po lumamig lang, hindi naman po siya para galawin. Pero 'yun nga po, July 5, kinuha na lang po siya sa bahay, sabi nga po maglilipat bahay lang. Pero hindi na po nakauwi 'yun. Nabalitaan ko na lang nga po, ganun, nasa morgue na,” she added.

(They said there will be a cleanup, they told me to tell my husband to leave Antipolo but my husband stayed and just went low profile thinking that he will not be touched. But on July 5, they took him from our house and said they would just transfer house but he was not able to return home. I just learned that he was already in a morgue.)

Gonzales said that their source of drugs for peddling are certain police officials Allen Cadag, Marlon Olaco, and Sir Baste.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, the chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee probing the government’s drug war, then tasked the secretariat to invite the mentioned police officials in the next hearing.

Senator Robin Padilla, for his part, said it would be wrong to blame all deaths from the war on drugs to the Duterte administration.

"Kung walang tatayo para lumaban dito paano ang kinabukasan ng mga anak natin? Paano ang kinabukasan ng bayan natin (If no one will stand up and fight this menace, what future will our children and nation have)?" he said.

"Totoo po ang buhay ng isang tao, 'yan ay bigay ng Diyos, 'yan ay kayamanan, 'yan ay regalo sa atin ng Diyos. Pero mga mahal kong kababayan, ang atin pong bayan ay nasa bingit ng napakalaking kapahamakan. Kung hindi po titindig ang ating kapulisan, kung hindi tatayo ang ating law enforcement, tayo ay tatalunin ng mga sindikatong naghahari, nagluluto ng droga kung saan saan,” Padilla added.

(It is true that a life is a gift from God. But our nation is in deep trouble. If our police do not act, we will be defeated by the drug syndicates.)

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and other top officials of his administration are already being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the alleged commission of crimes against humanity for systematic drug war deaths in police operations during his tenure.

These deaths reached around 6,000 based on police records, but human rights groups contend that the deaths reached as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings, due to Duterte's policy.

The former chief executive and the Duterte administration's officials, however, have always denied that killing people at whim is a government policy.

Likewise, Duterte has insisted that the Philippines is not under ICC jurisdiction due to Manila's unilateral withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2019.—AOL, GMA Integrated News