‘Kian is face of failure of PNP’s Oplan Double Barrel’

The killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos ought to be the moment of reckoning for those who still believe the war on drugs is still justifiable, Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus said on Wednesday.

“Kian is the face of failure of ‘Oplan Double Barrel,’” De Jesus said, referring to the Philippine National Police’s campaign to neutralize high-value drug personalities.

“It only further exposes that the only victims of this drug war are those who are helpless and poor,” she added.

De Jesus is the latest high-profile politician to visit the wake of Delos Santos, who was shot dead after allegedly shooting it out with officers during its “One-Time, Big-Time” operations in Barangay 160, Caloocan City, last week.

Mothers’ appeal

“Many mothers who come to me say they are afraid to even let their sons play basketball at night,” she said. “They might suffer the fate of Kian.”

De Jesus empathized with Delos Santos’ mother, Lorenza, who had been working as a domestic helper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for nearly three years.

“That meant she was really making an effort to provide for her family,” the lawmaker said, noting that Saudi Arabia is one of the most dangerous places for overseas women to work.

“Kian’s case is like a Pandora’s box. It threw wide open the many vulnerabilities of the country,” De Jesus said. “At one hand, the prevalence of drug victims in the country. At the other end, the problems of migrant workers who have to work abroad to make a living.”

On Wednesday, the Makabayan bloc filed House Resolution No. 1209 directing the House committee on human rights to condemn and conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, of Delos Santos’ killing.