Akbayan Akbayan Pushes for Urgent Passage of Kian Bill, Wants Duterte, Druglords and Tokhang Cops Punished

Akbayan Partylist today called for the urgent passage of the "Kian Bill" to protect innocent civilians, particularly youth and minors, from the brutal impacts of state-sanctioned violence.

Named after Kian Delos Santos—the young boy whose life was taken by police forces in Caloocan during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent anti-drug campaign—House Bill No. 11004 aims to prevent further victimization of innocent people and pivot the government’s approach to a public health framework and bring to justice both the drug lords who have largely evaded accountability and the enforcers responsible for extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the infamous Tokhang operations.

In a press conference in Quezon City, Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña stressed the need for accountability across the board. "Sila Duterte ang totoong mga druglords. We need to jail and punish both the drug lords who were left untouched by Duterte’s bloody drug war and his Tokhang cops who killed innocent civilians. Sa madugong war on drugs ni Digong, maraming inosenteng buhay ang napatay, habang ang mga kilalang drug personalities ay binigyan ng proteksyon," he said.

“Kailangan natin itong Kian Bill upang ‘di na mabiktima ang mga inosente. We need to ban Tokhang-style operations, illegal police operations, unlawful raids, and other terror-inducing and cruel methods that have traumatized urban poor communities yet spared the drug kingpins,” Cendaña underscored.

Meanwhile, Fr. Flavie Villanueva of Program Paghilom expressed hope as the Kian Bill is a step towards healing for the thousands of drug war victims' families.

"The victims' families deserve healing and justice. ‘Yung pagbibigay ng tutok at pansin ng gobyerno sa karahasan na ginawa sa kanila ay panimula lamang nito.," he said.

Randy delos Santos, uncle of Kian, also said that he "hopes that the bloody war on drugs will be the last and that the wheels of justice will finally turn for the victims."

"DOJ Task Force should scrutinize Bato’s role in drug war atrocities"

Akbayan First Nominee Atty. Chel Diokno called on the recently formed Department of Justice (DOJ) task force to closely examine Sen. Bato dela Rosa’s involvement in the bloody Drug War. As former Chief of the Philippine National Police, Dela Rosa directly implemented Tokhang policies, a directive that many view as a green light for EJKs.

“The DOJ must carefully scrutinize Senator Bato’s role in this dark chapter of our history,” Diokno said. “As the chief architect of Tokhang, his issuance of CMC 16-2016, calling for the neutralization of drug suspects, reflects his complicity, further reinforced by Duterte’s public admission of sanctioning these killings.”

Chel to Bato: Put deeds behind the tears, support the Kian Bill

Diokno also challenged Bato to back the Kian Bill if he is sincere about seeking justice for victims like Kian. It can be recalled that in the first Senate hearing on the Duterte administration's drug war, a teary-eyed Dela Rosa expressed his sadness over Delos Santos' killing. "Kung taos-puso talaga ang pakikidalamhati ni Senator Bato sa pamilya ni Kian at sa marami pang inosenteng Kian na pinatay ng madugong drug war, hinahamon namin siyang suportahan ang pagpasa ng Kian Bill. We challenge him to walk the talk and put deeds behind the tears," Diokno said.