The Department of Justice has submitted for resolution the case involving the controversial death of Grade 11 student Kian Loyd delos Santos after the panel of prosecutors concluded its preliminary investigation.
Associate Prosecution Attorney 2 Moises Acayan, a member of the DoJ’s prosecution panel, revealed that the case has been submitted for resolution.
“Hopefully, the resolution will be released on the second week of November by the prosecution panel,” Acayan stressed.
He said the resolution will be forwarded for approval to Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon and Acting Prosecutor Jorge Catalan.
The panel conducted the preliminary investigation over the criminal complaints filed by Kian’s parents—Saldy and Lorenza—and the National Bureau of Investigation against 16 policemen who have been named as respondents in the case.
Four policemen were initially named as respondents, namely, dismissed Caloocan City Police Community Precinct 7 commander Chief Inspector Ameor Cerillo, PO 3 Arnel Oares, PO1 Jerwin Cruz and PO1 Jeremias Pereda.
The Public Attorney’s Office, which represented Kian’s parents as legal counsel, later on included 12 more names, namely that of PO2 Arnel Canezares, PO2 Diony Corpuz, PO2 Fernan Cano, PO1 Reynaldo Dan Blanco Jr., PO1 Silverio Garcia Jr., PO1 Ronald Herrera, PO1 Myrldon Yagi, PO1 Christian Joy Aguilar, PO1 Ceferino Paculan, PO1 J-Rossillini Lorenzo, PO1 Erwin Romeroso and PO1 Ferdinand Claro.
The respondents were accused of murder, torture, violation of domicile and planting of evidence.
During the last hearing on Friday, all 16 respondents submitted a joint rejoinder in defense to the accusations against them.
Lawyer Oliver Yuan, the legal counsel of the respondents, said if ever the DOJ does decide to file a case in court not everyone should be named as accused.
“It is clear in this case that not everyone should be charged in court,” Yuan said, adding that “there were only three in the crime scene. Only PO3 Oares, PO1 Pereda, and PO1 Cruz.”
The lawyer also cited one of PAO’s witnesses said the three policemen were seen coming out from the house of Kian with a masked asset on the night he died during the conduct of anti-illegal drug operations in his neighborhood in Caloocan City.
Yuan said this strengthened the claims of the three policemen that the person seen they were with in the Barangay’s closed circuit television (CCTV) footage is the asset and not Kian.
The youth’s death has caused public outrage as the incident is believed to be another extrajudicial killing, contrary to police claims that Kian fired a gun at the three cops who retaliated and killed him.
Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte said there is a twist in the case, but did not give any details and just told the public to just wait for the trial.
But Yuan said he does not know what the President is talking about. “I do not have any idea about what the President is saying),” he lawyer added.