Senators seek probe into youths dying in police operations

MANILA, Philippines — Two senators have called for a hearing into the deaths of minors at the hands of law enforcement a year after the Senate adopted a resolution condemning the deaths of children in police operations.

Sens. Grace Poe and Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV filed separate resolutions last week, urging the Senate to look into youths being killed in police operations.

In Senate Resolution 890, Poe specifically cited the case of Joshua Laxamana, a 17-year-old student from Tarlac, who was killed by police on August 17.

The police claimed that Laxamana fought back, “another ‘nanlaban’ scenario,” said Poe.

But the senator stressed that family and friends of Laxamana countered the police narrative. They attested that the teenager was “dedicated passionately and solely to his gaming by the fact that most of his time was taken up by it.”

Laxamana was known as a player of online battle arena game Defense of the Ancients 2, more commonly known as DOTA, in his hometown in  Tarlac. Those who know him lamented that the teenager could no longer become a professional player due to his untimely death, Poe said.

FROM INTERAKSYON: Killing of DOTA player Joshua Laxamana in ‘police shootout’ sparks outcry

Laxamana’s companion, 15-year-old Julius Sebastian, is still missing.

“The circumstances surrounding the killing of Joshua and the forced disappearance of Julius [put] to question again the reported excessive disproportionate and illegitimate use of force of law by law enforcement officers,” Poe said.

The senator also pointed out that despite thousands of deaths and “ample evidence of systemic abuse by police,” only six murder cases have been brought to court and not a single police officer has been convicted.

“In order to ensure strict adherence with our laws and to dispel with the belief that collateral damage in this drug war is acceptable, law enforcement agencies must also adopt best practices which call for the adoption of practical measures,” she added.

Aquino: Pursue Senate’s call to investigate

Aquino, in Senate Resolution 884, stressed that the protection of child’s rights is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

He also cited the Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center that said at least 64 minors have been killed in police operations and vigilante-style attacks from July 2016 to December 2017.

Aquino noted that the Senate adopted a resolution in September 2017 condemning the spate of deaths of children at the hands of the police.

In the same month last year, the Senate also adopted the resolution to look into the deaths of minors.

“With continued reports coming in of minors killed by the police, there is an evident need to pursue the Senate’s earlier call to investigate these senseless killings of Filipino children and youth, and to identify immediate and concrete policy actions to avert these,” Aquino added.

In a related development, members of the House of Representatives have called for an investigation into the deaths of seven young men in Patikul, Sulu last week whom the military said were Abu Sayyaf killed in an encounter. Members of civil society organizations say, however, that the victims' relatives dispute the claim.

The seven were supposedly picking fruit when they were killed.