Philippines: Six officers suspended after shooting teen in Manila

Six policemen in the Philippine capital are facing criminal investigation over the fatal shooting of a teenager whom they had mistaken for a murder suspect.

Jerhode Baltazar drowned at a fishing village in suburban Manila after being shot in the head last Wednesday.

He dove into the water in a panic as police attempted to arrest him.

It was a “lapse in judgment” for the policemen to shoot him, given the 17-year-old was unarmed, conceded authorities.

“They cannot invoke self-defence. They were unable to prove that the victim resisted arrest,” Navotas city police chief Col Allan Umipig told local television.

It was not immediately clear what led police to believe the teenager was the person they were after. They had been tasked to arrest a suspect in a separate shooting, which also took place in Navotas.

The six officers have been removed from their posts and detained while authorities investigate whether they could be charged with homicide, which is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison under Philippine law.

The shooting has been covered prominently by local news outlets.

In videos posted on social media, the victim’s father, Jesse Baltazar, was shown clutching his son’s body after it was fished out of the water.

Mr Balazar questioned why his son was shot in the head when the policemen had claimed they fired only warning shots.

The victim’s mother, who works in Qatar, viewed her son’s coffin through a video call. She told local TV she never imagined her next remittance would be for her son’s burial.

The victim’s sister, Jeraldine Tolentino, also told local media that she refused a 50,000-peso ($1,000; £698) bribe to discourage the family from pursuing the case.

Law enforcers in the Philippines have in recent years parried allegations of extrajudicial killings of crime suspects, particularly those involved in illegal drugs. They have denied wrongdoing.

Alleged summary executions of suspects who purportedly resisted arrest increased during the reign of former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose term ended in mid-2022. He is facing an investigation by the International Criminal Court, which he has refused to recognise. Mr Duterte is currently living in retirement in Davao City.

Critics say his hardline stance against crime has fostered an atmosphere for police misconduct. He however has defended his signature campaign as necessary for keeping Filipinos safe from street crimes.

Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has dialled down his anti-narcotics campaign. However, state actors have been accused of involvement in high profile killings, such as that of journalist Percival Mabasa in November 2022.