UP-Baguio to government: Put an end to EJK

THE council of the University of the Philippines in Baguio City has called on government to put a stop on the string of extra judicial killings in the country following the latest deaths of three youths.

In a statement, UP said “Kian delos Santos during a police drug raid, and Carl Arnaiz who was with Reynaldo de Guzman during an alleged taxi holdup incident which led to their killings – invite more questions than answers because of conflicting versions surrounding the circumstances of their deaths.”

Official accounts reveal Delos Santos and Arnaiz died in a shootout with police, while de Guzman was found dead floating in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, with 30 stab wounds and his entire face wrapped in packing tape.

Further investigations poke holes at the police versions where contrary evidence indicate that delos Santos was shot while kneeling and did not fight back, while Arnaiz was handcuffed suggesting he could not wield a gun if ever he owned one.

His companion, de Guzman, was moved to another place where the condition of his body when found indicated no other motive by the perpetrators than to kill him under the most gruesome and cruel of circumstances.

“What is disconcerting in these scenarios is that the official explanation challenges credulity. The inconsistencies of the police versions in explaining what they insist to be ‘legitimate’ police operations, against forensic evidence and statements from witnesses, do not allow for an outright acceptance of official accounts,” the statement stressed.

The statement adds “what is more unsettling is when the personal histories of these fatalities are considered: delos Santos was a 17-year-old senior high school student; Arnaiz was 19-year-old and once a University of the Philippines student while de Guzman was merely 14 years old.”

UP Baguio also urged authorities to coordinate with international law enforcers in targeting cartels and big-time suppliers that cause illegal substances to proliferate in the streets.

The statement further added that law enforcement should focus on large-scale distributors and dealers with the goal to eradicate and terminate their operations.

The council, which is the highest policy-making body in the University, calls on the Duterte administration to implement the following: prosecute the perpetrators of extra-judicial killings, end extra-judicial killing, and implement a comprehensive solution to the drug problem.

It added a comprehensive program to address the problem of drugs will not yield instantaneous results by any means. (Jonathan Llanes)

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