Marilyn Cahatol

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ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177193905125220250816-kian-delos-santos-death-anniversary-MT8.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Justice and human rights advocates join the family and friends of Kian Loyd delos Santos on Saturday, August 16, 2025, in Barangay 160, Caloocan City, for a prayer vigil at the exact spot where the 17-year-old student was killed during an anti-drug operation, marking the eighth year since his death. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Justice and human rights advocates join the family and friends of Kian Loyd delos Santos on Saturday, August 16, 2025, in Barangay 160, Caloocan City, for a prayer vigil at the exact spot where the 17-year-old student was killed during an anti-drug operation, marking the eighth year since his death. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution highlighted the case of the 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, who was killed in 2017, as it laid out the alleged atrocities committed under former president Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s &quot;Project Tokhang&quot; on the second day of his confirmation of charges hearing.</p><p>Delos Santos was killed August 16, 2017 in Caloocan City, a case that sparked a massive public outcry and led to the temporary withdrawal of the police from drug operations.</p><p>Trial lawyer Edward Jeremy noted that Delos Santos&#x27; case followed the same modus operandi used for all victims of the barangay clearance operations, wherein they are identified through a list and killed in police operations.</p><p>In the scheme, he said, the crime scenes were planted with weapons, drugs, or money, while the police reports were falsified to legitimize the operations as acts of self-defense.</p><p>&quot;In this context, as witnesses explained, the police often used the term &#x27;<em>nanlaban</em>&#x27; which translates to fighting back to describe incidents in which they supposedly shot a victim in self-defense,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;These reports were often almost identical, in essence, copy-paste reports in which victims were frequently blamed for their own death, and finally, unofficial rewards were paid,&quot; he added.</p><p>The rewards were said to be given to those who murdered the targets.</p><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SlH7qDCqcWI?si=cvfCknA4kte5izir" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div><p>Jeremy, however, noted that in Delos Santos&#x27; case, CCTV footage contradicted the authorities&#x27; claim, as it showed police officers dragging the victim&#x27;s deceased body across the ground.</p><p>&quot;Other evidence showed that after pleading for his life, he was shot twice in the head,&quot; Jeremy said.</p><div> </div><div><strong>&#x27;PROJECT TOKHANG&#x27;</strong></div><p>Delos Santos&#x27; case was among the prosecution&#x27;s examples on the third count of crimes against humanity Duterte faces. It focused on the &quot;Project Tokhang&quot; — the barangay clearance operations that &quot;meant murdering some of the most vulnerable members of Filipino society.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/22/supreme-court-upholds-murder-conviction-of-3-cops-over-kian-delos-santos-killing-1431">READ: Supreme Court upholds murder conviction of 3 cops over Kian delos Santos killing</a></div><p>Citing witnesses, Jeremy said the poor were targeted &quot;because they were the ones least likely to file complaints against the police.&quot;</p><p>Tokhang was also carried out through &quot;one-time big-time&quot; (OTBT) operations that resulted in multiple murders, the prosecution said.</p><p>The trial lawyer cited as example an OTBT operation in Bulacan that took place for 24 hours from August 15 to 16, 2017, resulting in 32 deaths and 107 arrests of alleged &quot;drug users.&quot;</p><p>The prosecution played a 2017 clip of Duterte reacting to the incident, with him saying: &quot;Maganda yun. Makapatay lang tayo ng another 32 everyday, maybe we can reduce what ails this country.&quot;</p><p>Jeremy stressed that the police operations further intensified and had involved minors, citing two separate occasions where children aged 14 to 15 were detained.</p><p>He said: &quot;Police wrapped the child&#x27;s head in packing tape so no one can hear them scream. And strangled the child to death with wire.&quot;</p><div> </div><div><strong>HIGH-VALUE TARGETS</strong></div><p>Local operations aside, the prosecution said members of police personnel and the so-called &quot;Davao Death Squad&quot; also received rewards for killing &quot;high-value targets.&quot;</p><p>The HVTs were said to be listed in the &quot;PRRD list&quot; Duterte publicized during his early years of presidency.</p><p>The prosecution highlighted the case of late Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was killed in November 2016 within a Leyte provincial jail three months after then-new president Duterte warned him to surrender to police.</p><p>Jeremy said the police claimed Espinosa <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/11/04/16/albuera-mayor-espinosa-shot-dead-inside-jail-cell">died from a shoot-out incident</a> inside the jail, while evidence showed he was murdered in a coordinated operation involving various state agents.</p><p>Espinosa was labeled as a &quot;level 4&quot; HVT in the said PRRD list.</p><p>He was also labeled &quot;neutralized&quot; after his death, which the prosecution said meant &quot;kill&quot; within law enforcement agencies.</p><p>Jeremy urged the court to reflect on Duterte&#x27;s performance as Philippine chief executive.</p><p>&quot;This is the president of the Philippines, the commander-in-chief, the most powerful man in the Philippines,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s pointing directly at the crowd, and he is telling them to kill someone else&#x27;s child. Kill them, not because they are an alleged drug lord, not even an alleged criminal. But simply because they may have an addiction to drugs,&quot; he added.</p><p>Duterte, who opted not to attend his confirmation of charges hearing, is facing three counts of crimes against humanity over his administration&#x27;s anti-illegal drugs campaign.</p><p>The hearing is set until February 27, which will determine whether there are &quot;substantial grounds&quot; that Duterte committed the alleged crimes for his case to proceed to trial.</p><p>The pre-trial chamber will issue its decision within 60 days after the hearing. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oj3nI1KSFBA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution highlighted the case of the 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, who was killed in 2017, as it laid out the alleged atrocities committed under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “Project Tokhang" on the second day of his confirmation of charges hearin</p>

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution highlighted the case of the 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, who was killed in 2017, as it laid out the alleged atrocities committed under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “Project Tokhang" on the second day of his confirmation of charges hearin

ICC prosecution highlights Kian delos Santos case in detailing 'Project Tokhang' in Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing

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ICC prosecution highlights Kian delos Santos case in detailing 'Project Tokhang' in Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 24, 2026 07:06 PM PHT

|

Updated Feb 25, 2026 08:18 AM PHT

Read More:

Kian Delos Santos

Rodrigo Duterte

International Criminal Court

crimes against humanity

war on drugs

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