Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 4) — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Saturday maintained that the medico-legal officer who conducted the autopsy on drug war victim Kian Delos Santos adhered to standard operating procedures in examining bodies.
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The PNP Forensic Group issued the statement after forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun said earlier this week that the police and the Public Attorneys Office did not properly examine the 17-year-old boy’s remains.
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In defending its autospy report, the group said its expert witness’ findings helped put behind bars the three Caloocan police officers who killed Delos Santos in 2017. [LINK: 3 cops found guilty of murdering Kian delos Santos]
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“The autopsy findings of the PNP’s expert witness which were presented as one of the prosecution’s evidence during the trial of the criminal case significantly led to the conviction of the personnel involved, the court sentencing the accused to 40 years imprisonment without parole and the indemnification of the heirs of Delos Santos,” its statement read.
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The forensic group also said it has conducted “honest, serious and sincere forensic examination free from any personal or political agenda” since its establishment in 1945.
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In a press conference on Thursday, Fortun criticized government’s autopsy reports after she re-examined the body of Delos Santos, whom police killed at the height of the Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drug campaign called “Oplan Tokhang.”
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Fortun said the PNP report almost had no information in it. She added that only surface cuts were made on Delos Santos’ body, and that there was no examination of the boy’s internal organs.
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The expert also revealed that she found a bullet on the victim’s neck area that was not reported in autopsies previously done by the agencies.
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Fortun said she believed the bullet could be matched to the gun that was used to kill Delos Santos.
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