Kian Loyd de los Santos, the 17-year-old killed by anti-narcotics agents as he knelt face down in a dark and dirty alleyway, sparking public outrage over President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, was buried at 2pm on Saturday (Aug 25).

Over 5,000 mourners, many wearing white shirts with the words “Justice for Kian”, joined the funeral march from De los Santos’ home in Caloocan city, north of the capital Manila.

Thousands more lined the roads that led to a cemetery about 10km away. They waited along sidewalks, and on roofs, staircases, bridgeways and overpasses to catch a glimpse of De los Santos’ flower-draped coffin on a flatbed truck flanked with tarpaulins bearing the words “Run, Kian, Run” and “Stop the killings”.

Many of the mourners live in rundown districts where Mr Duterte has always enjoyed popular support. But this time, they joined the chorus demanding justice for De los Santos, a Grade 12 student who was heard crying, “Stop, please! I have a test tomorrow”, as he was being manhandled by three policemen, and just moments before he was shot three times – once in the back and twice in the head.

A middle-aged woman held a placard with the words, “Kian, you are an eye-opener”. Others hung cardboards in front of their houses with the pervading calls of the moment: “Justice for Kian” and “Stop the killings”.

Those who joined in the march carried streamers that, among many messages, reminded everyone: “Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill”.

Others directed their anger at the police force, labelling lawmen as “killers” and “a scourge”.

The cortege stopped at the police precinct where the policemen who killed De los Santos were assigned. A prayer service that doubled as a protest was held there. Only one policeman stepped out to have a look.

De los Santos’ death has drawn huge public attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

The three policemen who killed him during a drug raid early in the evening on Aug 16 said De los Santos shot at them, so they fired back.

But a witness said he saw the three men grab De los Santos outside a shop near his home. They then began slapping and punching the boy until he cried. They put him in a headlock and dragged him away.

A security camera footage showed two of them marching someone through a basketball court. A third man followed. Witnesses identified the one being dragged as De los Santos.

The boy was then taken to a dark, trash-logged alley by a river, near a pigsty. A witness heard burst of gunfire. Moments later, De los Santos was dead.

On Friday, the boy’s parents and public lawyers filed murder complaints against the three policemen involved.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said earlier De los Santos’ death was being “overblown” by the President’s crisis. It was an “isolated case”, he said.

But the Children's Legal Rights and Development Centre , a Manila-based advocacy group, said De los Santos was just one of the 54 minors, aged one to 17, killed since Mr Duterte began a savage crackdown on drugs last year.</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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More than a thousand mourners attended a funeral procession in the Philippines capital Manila on Saturday for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage about the country's war on drugs.

MANILA: More than a thousand mourners attended a funeral procession in the Philippines capital Manila on Saturday for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage about the country's war on drugs.

Kian Loyd delos Santos was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark, trash-filled alley in northern Manila, before he was shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

The death of the 17-year old has drawn huge domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims - including my son," Katherine David, 35, whose 21-year old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

Mourners, some of them wearing white shirts displaying the words "Justice for Kian," held flowers and small flags, and placards denouncing the killing, as the procession including vans and motorbikes moved out of delos Santos' home in Caloocan city.

Delos Santos' flower-draped coffin passed slowly through narrow streets on a flat-bed truck with two black and red coloured tarpaulins containing the words "Run, Kian, Run" and "Stop the killings" displayed on each side.

The cortege made a brief stop in front of police precinct where three police officers involved in the killing of Delos Santos were assigned before proceeding to the church.

The parents and lawyers of delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen on Friday.

If accepted, the complaint would follow at least two cases filed last year against police over President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, which has killed thousands of Filipinos, outraged human rights groups and alarmed Western governments.

"We march today to bring Kian to his final resting place and to support the call for justice for all victims of Duterte’s fascist drug war," said Renato Reyes, secretary general of left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation), said in a statement.

"We call for accountability of the police officers directly involved in the killings as well as accountability of the commander-in-chief who sanctioned the killings," Reyes said.

A member of Rise Up, a Manila-based coalition of church-related groups opposing the drug war, told Reuters that families of about 20 victims joined the procession.

David believes the response to Kian's killing marks a turning point in opposite to the drug war.

"There's been a big change. Before, police could kill and nobody paid attention. Now people are starting to show support and sympathy," she said.</s>Mourners call for justice after 17-year-old was killed by police during bloodiest week of President Duterte's drug war.

More than 1,000 mourners attended a funeral procession in Manila for a high school student, whose killing last week by anti-drugs officers has caused rare public outrage over the country's war on drugs.

Crowds chanted for "justice" on Saturday in the Philippine capital in what became one of the biggest protests in the country against President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug drive.

Kian Loyd Delos Santos was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark alley in northern Manila, before he was shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

The death of the 17-year-old has drawn domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims - including my son," Katherine David, 35, whose 21-year-old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

READ MORE: Thousands demand end to killings in Duterte's drug war

Mourners carried placards reading, "Stop the killings," "Police, murderers" and "Justice for Kian" as they marched for about five kilometres from a church near Delos Santos' house to the cemetery where he was buried.

The parents and lawyers of Delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen on Friday.

"Kian was a very good son," Saldy Delos Santos said in a message at the last mass for his son. "The entire community knew him as a good person ... He was begging for his life..They [the killers] probably have no heart."

Richard Heydarian, political science professor from Manila's De La Salle University, said public anger had exploded because of Delos Santos' young age.

"This is a second coming of Duterte's war on drugs and what happened this time is not about the killing of a likely innocent person, but we're talking about the minor who was killed, and the killing of the minor was caught on CCTV," he told Al Jazeera. "That is why you see a huge backlash against the war on drugs."

Public support for the anti-drugs drive had until recently been strong.

"The number one concern for people here is not against Duterte himself, but they feel like he is relying on the wrong agent, which is the national police of Philippines to wage this war," said Heydarian.

"You cannot wage a holy war with unholy men, so what people want here is to clean up the police force and to make sure that within the police forces there is accountability and discipline."

Reporting from Manila, Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan said that there might be a chance that this case, out of the more than 10,000 drug-related killings, would be solved.

"It remains to be seen whether this will change the approach of the president when it comes to his so-called war on drugs," she said, "or if it even will lead to reform within the police institution in this country."

"We march today to bring Kian to his final resting place and to support the call for justice for all victims of Duterte's fascist drug war," said Renato Reyes, secretary-general of left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation), said in a statement.

Bayan criticised the campaign for corrupting the police force "through a system of quotas and financial rewards for police officers".

"We call for accountability of the police officers directly involved in the killings as well as accountability of the commander-in-chief who sanctioned the killings," Reyes said.

Delos Santos was among more than 90 people killed in the bloodiest week in Duterte's anti-drug war since he took office on June 30, 2016.

The case has highlighted the allegations of abuse by police in the anti-drug war, in which at least 3,500 people have been killed over the last year.

Duterte has assured the public that police officers involved in Delos Santos' death would go to jail if found guilty.

"If it was really a rub out, they (police officers) have to answer for it. They have to go to jail. I'm sorry," he said.

Duterte has vowed in the past to protect the police against legal cases filed against them.</s>Rodrigo Duterte: Philippines funeral turns into protest against the President's war on drugs

More than 1,000 people have attended a funeral procession for a teenager slain by police in the Philippines last week, turning the march into one of the biggest protests yet against President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

The death of Kian Loyd delos Santos drew widespread attention to allegations that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge authorities deny.

He was dragged by plain-clothes policemen to a dark, trash-filled alley in northern Manila, before being shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.

Police said they acted in self defence after Mr delos Santos opened fire on them.

Nuns, priests and hundreds of children joined the funeral procession as it made its way from a church to the cemetery where the 17-year-old was buried.

Mr delos Santos' father spoke briefly during a mass to defend his son's innocence and express his anger at the police.

"There's a lot of churches, they should go there."

The parents and lawyers of Mr delos Santos filed a murder complaint against the three anti-narcotics policemen involved in the incident on Friday.

If accepted, the complaint would follow at least two cases filed last year against police over Mr Duterte's war on drugs, which has killed thousands of Filipinos, outraged human rights groups and alarmed Western governments.

Mr delos Santos' flower-draped coffin passed through a major highway on a small truck decorated with tarpaulins reading "Run, Kian, Run" and "Stop the killings" displayed on each side.

"This is a sign that the people have had enough and are indignant over the impunity that prevails today," Renato Reyes, secretary general of left-wing activist group Bayan, said in a statement.

Mourners, some of them wearing white shirts, held flowers and small flags, and placards denouncing the killing.

A member of Rise Up, a Manila-based coalition of church-related groups opposing the drug war, told Reuters the families of about 20 victims joined the procession.

"I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims — including my son," said Katherine David, whose 21-year-old son was shot dead by police with two other men in January.

Department of Justice personnel armed with assault rifles were on guard during the procession and outside the church.

Most people in the Philippines support the anti-drug campaign, and Mr Duterte remains a popular leader, but questions are being asked since the death of Mr delos Santos, which came during a spike in killings across the Philippines' main island, Luzon.

The President's communication office reiterated he would not tolerate wrongdoing by law enforcers and called on the public to "trust the justice system under the Duterte presidency".

But bereaved mother Ms David believes the response to Mr delos Santos' killing marks a turning point in opposition to the drug war.

"There's been a big change. Before, police could kill and nobody paid attention. Now people are starting to show support and sympathy," she said.
Hundreds of sympathizers attend the funeral procession of a teenager killed allegedly due to the ongoing drug purge in the Philippines.