In a rare conviction of one of the enforcers of the crackdown, a Filipino police officer has been found guilty of the murder of two teens during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, court records revealed Tuesday.
In the course of his six-year administration, which concluded in June 2022, Duterte explicitly instructed police to shoot drug suspects dead if their lives were in jeopardy.
Official statistics estimate that more than 6,200 persons lost their lives during the anti-drug operation, but human rights organizations believe that the true number was likely much higher.
When a suspect was killed by a police officer during the crackdown, only three policemen had previously been found guilty. This prompted the International Criminal Court to open an inquiry.
According to a verdict viewed by AFP, a Manila court found Jeffrey Perez guilty of killing Reynaldo De Guzman, 14, and Carl Arnaiz, 19, in 2017.
Perez received a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison.
He was previously incarcerated for a significant amount of time after being convicted in November of torturing the two youngsters by a different court.
Police officer, Ricky Arquilita, his co-defendant, passed away during the initial trial. Both disputed the accusations.
On August 17, 2017, De Guzman and Arnaiz were last spotted together.
A witness testified during the trials that he saw a police car parked by the side of the road and saw Arnaiz exit it while handcuffed, raising his hands and yelling, “I will surrender” before the police officers shot him.
Weeks later, De Guzman’s body was discovered in the area north of Manila with numerous stab wounds.
After Duterte, President Ferdinand Marcos promised to continue the drug battle but put an emphasis on education and treatment.
Yet, rights organizations assert that while in office, the murders have persisted.
The ICC announced in January that it would begin its investigation into the drug war because its pre-trial chamber was “not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the court’s investigations”.
The ruling has been appealed by Manil
