The death of Kian delos Santos at the hands of Caloocan City policemen four years ago was one of the lowest points of the Philippine National Police but Police General Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said it also paved the way of the aggressive internal cleansing in the police organization.

Eleazar said those responsible for the death pf delos Santos were already dismissed from the service and were already convicted by the court for a case of murder.

“While the case of Kian delos Santos was one of the lowest points of the PNP, it also showcased the strong resolve of the police organization to clean our ranks and initiate aggressive reforms to further institutionalize transparency and accountability,” said Eleazar.

Eleazar made the statement after the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said that drug war killings continue four years after the death of delos Santos who was executed by three Caloocan City policemen but was made to appear that he shot it out with them.

"I would like to reiterate and assure the CHR that it is not and has never been the policy of the PNP to kill in its anti-illegal drug operations. But in cases when the lives of policemen are in danger, they also have to protect themselves," said Eleazar.

Eleazar assured that possible irregularities in anti-illegal drug operations are immediately investigated because the PNP has no tolerance for police misconduct. He said these apply to all operations of the PNP.

He said that based on the PNP data, more than 5,000 policemen were dismissed from the service since 2016 for various offenses, most of these dismissal occurred under the administration of President Duterte.

The figure includes the three policemen who were tagged as responsible for the death of delos Santos. They were already convicted of murder by a Caloocan City court.

Aside from dismissal, thousands more were suspended, demoted and were punished with forfeiture of salary for various minor offenses.

“The case of Kian will serve as a constant reminder to all our personnel that we will never tolerate wrongdoings and abuse the power that was given to us by the Filipino people whom he vowed to serve and protect,” said Eleazar.