MANILA, Philippines - Police officers couldn’t just kill 17-year-old student Kian Loyd delos Santos even if he might have been a drug courier, President Duterte’s chief legal adviser said yesterday.

Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said law enforcers can only use force if the suspect poses a threat to their lives.

“Many are saying that the boy was a child runner. Even if he was a drug runner, you cannot just kill somebody like that,” Panelo said in an interview with state-run Radyo Pilipinas.

“Kailangan nanlaban siya. Eh kung hindi naglaban bakit naman siya papatayin? Kaya hindi papayag si Presidente ng ganoon-ganoon lang (He should have fought. If he did not, why kill him? The President will not allow this to pass),” he added.

Panelo said Duterte does not tolerate abusive practices by law enforcers.

“He declared a war (against illegal drugs) and he said he would support the policemen. But he also stated clearly: ‘But those who will abuse their authority will have hell to pay, they will not go unpunished,’” Panelo said.

“This has to be investigated to determine what really happened,” he added.

Kian, a Grade 11 student, was killed in the police’s intensified anti-drug operations in Caloocan City last Wednesday. His death has sparked outrage among activists and some politicians and has raised questions on the way the police conduct anti-drug operations.

Policemen involved in the operation claimed that Kian drew a gun and fired at them, prompting them to shoot back. But a closed circuit television footage showed the policemen carrying the boy, contradicting the claim that he fired at them.

Critics and allies of Duterte in Congress have also condemned the killing and have called for an impartial probe of the circumstances that led to Kian’s death.

Panelo lashed out at politicians who are allegedly taking advantage of the issue to discredit the President.

“They (politicians) will jump at any issue to demolish this presidency. It’s natural for them to do so. It seems that they won’t stop. They are always like that… But people don’t believe them,” he said.