Drug War: Philippine Police Officer Jailed For Killing Teenagers

A Philippines police officer has been found guilty of murdering two teenagers in a conviction linked to the country’s war on drugs.

Ex-police officer Jefrey Perez was found guilty on March 1 and sentenced to 20 years in jail for murdering Reynaldo De Guzma and Carl Arnaiz in 2017.

Perez was already serving a lengthy jail sentence after being found guilty by a court in November of torturing and planting evidence on the same teenagers.

A co-accused, police officer Ricky Arquilita, died during the first trial. Both denied the charges.

Perez was also ordered to pay compensation to the families of the victims for the deaths.

Current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has promised to pursue the drug war but with a focus on prevention and rehabilitation rather than killing.

Human rights groups have, however, said that the killings have continued.

A United Nations report in 2021 found that 8,663 people had been killed in anti-drug operations, while the Philippines Commission on Human Rights and local human rights groups believe the death toll could be as much as three times higher.