Malacañang on Thursday allayed fears that President Rodrigo Duterte would eventually pardon the three convicted police officers in the killing of teenager Kian delos Santos last year, noting that the chief executive will not tolerate an act of murder.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo stressed that Duterte will only help those law enforcers who have not violated the law.
“You must remember that this is a murder. There is intention to kill. The President will never tolerate that,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
“Obviously, if the conviction is murder, which is intentional, I don’t think the President will pardon,” he added.
Duterte had publicly claimed that he would protect policemen who are charged for doing their duties in accordance with the law, adding that he will absolve law enforcers who would be penalized for his anti-drug war.
Delos Santos, whom initially claimed by the police to be part of the illegal drug trade, was killed during a police operation in Caloocan in August 2017.
His death drew widespread condemnation of Duterte’s war on illegal drugs, which has claimed over 5,000 lives since he took office in 2016, according to government data.
Panelo, who is also Duterte’s chief legal counsel, also called the conviction a testament for the country’s robust and working justice system.
He then lauded the trial court, which resolved the case in only six months, for the “swift administration of justice.”
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