In a series of unfortunate events, it is the youth who takes the toll this time on the bloodshed made by the very forces who took an oath protecting them — the Philippine National Police. Jemboy Baltazar, a 17-year-old resident of Navotas City, was the recent victim of the state forces’ Russian roulette with their impartial and extra-judicial verdict.
The killing of Jemboy Baltazar who was denoted as the “second Kian” implies that his death is not an isolated case, but a seemingly planned orchestration to use power beyond the judicial system. With seemingly familiar modus-like, faulty, and made-up statements of the police, victim-blaming alibis, and slow-moving justice, a trend is begging to be noticed — this type of killing is being condoned by the very institution that promised to serve and to protect.
Numbers won’t remain silent
As the third quarter of the year approaches, a prematurely buried issue involving the country’s national police came alive. The death of Kian Lloyd Delos Santos surfaced anew as another child met the same demise Kian had — Jemboy was “mistakenly” killed by the police. Near their home, Jemboy was shot by the police while cleaning their boat.
Four days after the merciless killing, the 17-year old John Francis seemed to be the next victim of impunity as he was “mistakenly” shot as well by the police, stating that the bullet was meant for his brother. Prior to the shooting, the brother of John Francis was having a commotion with the police due to vehicle-related violations and provocation of his brother, as he exited, he was then shot.
A minor was also reportedly beaten and physically violated by the same police unit involved in the killings of Jemboy, after being suspected of theft over a missing cellphone. The 15-year-old minor was hit multiple times by a blunt object that caused bruising in the different parts of the body.
Most of the time, the police declines the responsibility on their casualties, but autopsies show otherwise that other raid-related deaths are intentional. Two teenagers namely Reynaldo De Guzman and Carl Arnaiz, aged 14 and 19 respectively, are killed by Jeffrey Perez. They were found afloat in creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija with 30 stab wounds and gunshots.
The recent killings have an evident pattern where the PNP exhibits carelessness, trigger-happy attitude, and short tolerance and shrugs it off by branding it as “collateral damage.” These deaths can be traced back to the previous Duterte administration and how its ‘war on drugs’ campaign gave the police power to end a Filipino’s life and frame it as a drug addict to make the killing “valid”. The anti-drug campaign ended 20,000 lives in total, 2,555 of which were claimed by the PNP.
Numbers tell us that there is an unforgiving history of youth or children killing in the past administration. 129 children were killed by police or allied forces and these were executed during Duterte’s war on drugs. Although these data are seemingly low compared to the 7,742 civilians killed, it is the bright future of a hundred helpless children who have dreams for themselves and their families.
In the hundred lives of children claimed by the police last term, the age ranges from 1 year old to 17 years old. The broad range of deaths prove that minors are at high risk to be killed in raids and operations. Of all the documented war on drugs-related killings, 38.5% are done by the police of which the youngest victim was a 20-month old baby and Kian being the oldest in the minor bracket. The remaining 61.5% was due to an unknown assailant which are also highly related to police efforts.
Police visibility in spaces where the youth shelters are also heightened. In UP Los Baños, police sightings were always rampant in surveilling students and even threatening various student leaders. In addition, the Department of Education (DepEd) requested an increase in police visibility as another academic year starts.
With Sara Duterte being the head of the department known for its military and authoritarian approach, the safety of the children is questioned. Who will they call for help when those who sworn to protect them endanger their lives?
According to an anonymous high school teacher with an alias, ‘Ms. Ana’, her students have now different perception towards the police. “Hindi nakakagulat na natatakot na yung mga bata sa mga pulis, syempre may mga TV na rin, siguro napapanood nila na laging pulis ang pumapatay.” As the killings become popular, fear is now inculcated in the minds of the children as they roam with terror anew.
In a supposed-to-be peaceful, gift-giving program for children, the Manila City Police red-tagged and harassed volunteers of Tulong Kabataan Santa Mesa (TKSM). They also branded coloring and reading books as subversive. With such unprovoked acts like these by the PNP, the fear of the youth fortifies as they exhibit violence in a place considered a haven for children.
After Marcos Jr. subscribes to Duterte’s war on drugs, it is not surprising to see how the youth killings unfold and seem to persist after another regime. With the alarming rate of child-involved deaths along with the increasing police visibility and brutality in different areas where youth thrive, especially schools, the question stands: is it only the tip of the iceberg for another looming bloody and terrorizing regime of another Marcos has to offer?
Tale as old as time
If there is one thing the Philippine National Police is consistently doing, it is evidently not safeguarding its citizens, but spewing well-crafted lies to fit the narrative of their impunity.
As Jemboy suffered brain injury along with drowning as caused by the police’s brutality, the state forces get to tell another tale that it is a mere isolated case and collateral damage. But the gross negligence and lack of accountability in the Philippine National Police allows these killings to continue and how the youth killings in our state persist.
In July 2019, halfway through Duterte’s term, a 3-year-old girl was killed in another anti-drug operation. As unfortunate as it gets, Sen. Bato Dela Rosa shrugs the death and states “shit happens.” as the police operation guns another civilian. This statement coming from a former top-rank officer of the institution might be dangerous as it might influence its units. The peril lies as the police might claim lives since they are incited that it is normal and a mere misfortune.
However, this killing frenzy hosted by the Philippine National Police isn’t by direct command but a systemic problem worsened by Duterte’s explicit orders – to shoot and to kill. Duterte’s assertion on the elimination of the drug problem in the Philippines was consistent. The only downside of the former president’s foresight can be solved immediately – through violence and coercion.
From Dela Rosa and Duterte’s statements encouraging the police to take justice by their hands and up to Marcos Jr.’s silence in the bloodshed, one thing is becoming clear amidst the noises made by their violence, there is a culture of impunity because the very officials leading the country tolerates it.
Delayed justice is justice denied
“The cops made the wrong decision to fire their guns.” These were the very lines uttered by Navotas Police Chief Allan Umipig as they confirmed the killing of Jemboy. Mere admission does not warrant justice, A month has elapsed yet the state remains clear on how the lives of the youth remain negligible as the culprits dressed in blue remain unpunished.
(READ: Culprits dressed in blue: a disservice, dishonor, and injustice)
Kian Delos Santos’ justice was denied as well and the court only got to take action three months after his death. Reportedly shot in August 2018, the suspects were only officially laid off in November.
According to data, the Supreme Court, the highest body governing the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, has only 1,000 cases disposed of out of the 15,000 cases yearly with the remaining 14,000 backlog cases. As the spotlight pans over to the heated police killings, with expected trial-by-publicity and pressure, it is indeed a sluggish justice system given how long it is for the minors and their family to receive justice.
Just like how police terrorize children, the very own state instills fear in the families of the victims on how justice will fall in their hands if it seems to favor the PNP rather than its extra-judicial casualties.
The Commission on Human Rights expressed concern about the rampant police-induced killings involving minors. “Every police officer as a duty-bearer of the people’s human rights must be reminded of their duty ‘to serve and protect’ and the irreversibility of errors resulting in the arbitrary deprivation of life.”, emphasizing the sworn duty of the state forces amidst the tally of the minors in the killings.
May it be broad daylight or nighttime, state attacks victimize anyone. Outside the youth bracket, police brutality also persists in the form of physical abuse. Take Nimfa Lanzana, a survivor of the state-sponsored Bloody Sunday Massacre that claimed the lives of 9 labor organizers and leader-activists last March 2021. Aside from the killings, 6 illegal arrests were also made including Nimfa Lanzanas of Kapatid-ST in front of her grandchildren.
(READ: No blood spared: A year after Bloody Sunday)
The brutality experienced by Lanzanas was enough for her to file countercharges against the police who ransacked their home due to an inaccurate search warrant that was never intended for her place. The impunity experienced by Lanzanas can also be rooted to PNP’s poor coordination and perform warrantless operations that not only violate the institution but the lives of their victims as well.
The recent rise in the number of deaths in youth caused by police operations and vigilante-style killings is alarming in the country. The call for protection rises as the state fails to recognize the needs of the already vulnerable sector in our society. With recalibration of the PNP, reinforcement of laws protecting children, and fostering a justice system that caters to its true constituents, a change is possible in adapting to the long-rotten system.
The Philippine National Police have created a culture of impunity and violence within their units and themselves, and fingers should also be pointed to the factors that enable them — its very own state. From higher officials inciting harm, to a rusty justice system, and ineffective state policies that fail to protect the youth, the PNP will cease to function to serve and protect.
Filipino children should be having the time of their lives socializing, making friends, and building their dreams — not as headlines of every media outlet or as another statistic in the name of police killings. [P]
photos from [P] files, Anakbayan FB page, League of Filipino Students FB page
layout by Jonas Atienza
UPLB Perspective 