Three government bodies have opened investigations into the murky police killing of Kian Delos Santos and president admits police may have abused law

The killing of a 17-year-old student in the Philippines has sparked nationwide protest and multiple government investigations, moves which many hope could signal a reassessment of the country’s war on drugs that has left an estimated 5,500 people dead.

Kian Delos Santos was dragged from his home in Caloocan, on the outskirts of Manila, and allegedly murdered by police under the guise of a raid on drug pushers.

The brutal war on drugs in the Philippines – in pictures Read more

His last words, pleading with officers hours before he was found lying dead on 16 August, were, “Please stop. Please stop. I have a test tomorrow,” according to a witness.

An autopsy report showed he was shot twice in his head and once on the back.

The killing has sparked mass protests and triggered several government agencies to launch investigations.

Now even the architect of the violent crackdown, the president, Rodrigo Duterte, has said that something was wrong with the police operation after viewing CCTV footage showing two men dragging the defenceless student along the street.

The footage of Santos alive in custody throws serious doubt on police claims that police shot the teenager after he drew a gun to fight back arrest.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police seen on CCTV dragging Kian Delos Santos down the street

“I saw the tape on TV and I agree that there should be an investigation. Should the investigation point to liabilities by one, two, or all, there will be a prosecution, and they have to go to jail if convicted,” Duterte said at a hastily convened press conference on Monday.

It was an uncharacteristic admission coming from a president who, last year, referred to children and innocents killed in his crackdown as “collateral damage”. One week ago, when police killed 32 people in the bloodiest night of raids, Duterte immediately gave his approval. “That’s good,” he said.

A turning point

Since the former mayor of Davao city became president last July, government figures show police have killed close to 3,500 “drug personalities”. More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to official data.

Duterte has lashed out at any criticism. He warned the European Union not to “fuck with us” after the European parliament passed a resolution expressing “grave concern over credible reports” that Philippine police were engaged in extrajudicial killings, a claim officers strongly deny.

Despite the criticism, Duterte has remained a popular leader and polls have shown continued domestic support for his war on drugs.

But the death of Santos appears to be a turning point. Three government bodies, the department of justice, the senate, and the Commission on Human Rights, launched investigations.

Santos’s last words have become viral on social media and on Monday protesters gathered at the People’s Power Monument in Manila to voice their outrage.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Protesters hold placards and a banner calling for justice for student Kian Loyd delos Santos at a wake in Kaloocan city, north of Manila. Photograph: Francis R. Malasig/EPA

The locations of the demonstration was symbolic – the People’s Power Revolution overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos who, like Duterte, had used martial law. The movement began 34 years ago following the killing of a former senator, Benigno Aquino.

Aquino’s nephew, also a senator, was among those at the rally calling for a congressional investigation into the death of Santos.

“We expect that our filed resolutions will be consolidated so we can get to the bottom of these extrajudicial killings together and reassess the government’s strategy in addressing the drug problem,” Paolo Benigno Aquino IV told the Guardian.

“There is a need to attain justice for [Santos] and other victims of abuse by the state in the hands of our law enforcers and authorities,” he added.

A former government official and anti-martial law activist, Teresita Deles, said she hoped that the death of Santos – like the death of Aquino in 1983 – will open more eyes to the brutality of Duterte’s rule.

“I think it’s a start. I think the president and the people around him better think if the impunity continues,” Deles said.

The injustice of Santos’s case, she says, is undeniable.

“For the first time, you’ve got witnesses. You’ve got stories of the last moments ... Knowing how he begged to the cops, ‘Stop it. I have a test tomorrow.’ I mean this is obviously a boy who is trying to do something with his life,” she added.

“By this time, I think most people are only two to three degrees removed from knowing somebody killed in the war on drugs. You don’t have to look far to see what’s happening.”

Carmela Fonbuena is a senior reporter at Rappler.com