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January 21, 2018
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MANILA – The Department of Justice filed criminal charges against two Caloocan policemen over the death of teenagers Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman in August last year.
A three-man Justice department panel of prosecutors found probable cause to indict Police Officers 1 Jeffrey Perez and Ricky Arquilita for murder and planting of evidence, in violation of Section 38 of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, in connection with the handgun found with Arnaiz.
The department filed two more counts of planting of evidence, in violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, due to the shabu and marijuana found with Arnaiz, and two counts of torture, in violation of Sections 4 and 14 of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 before the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court.
“The panel finds the same to be matters of evidence that should be ventilated in a full-blown trial before the court,” read part of the panel’s 35-page resolution dated Dec. 18, 2017 but was released to the press only on Friday.
Examinations by the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) forensic laboratory showed handcuff marks around Arnaiz’s wrists and traces of bruising all over his body, the panel said.
A male witness, Joe Daniel, also said Arnaiz was kneeling and handcuffed when the two policemen killed him, it added.
The two policemen killed the teens “without any danger to their lives,” hence, the murder charges, Acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan Jr. said in a news conference on Friday.
“[The killing] was done in a treacherous manner without risk to themselves,” Catalan told reporters.
Meanwhile the panel cleared taxi driver Tomas Bagcal even after insisting that Arnaiz robbed him. “His participation was not clear,” said Catalan.
The charges stemmed from the complaint filed by the parents of Arnaiz and the PAO, who represented de Guzman.
In their joint counter-affidavit, Arquilita and Perez said Arnaiz died during a legitimate police operation, but they did not tackle de Guzman’s death.
Arnaiz and de Guzman were last seen alive together on Aug. 18, 2017 in their neighborhood in Cainta, Rizal. They were aged 19 years and 14 years, respectively, at the time of their disappearance.
Caloocan City police claimed Arnaiz died during a shootout last Aug. 18 when he resisted arrest and fired his handgun at officers in pursuit after the robbery of Bagcal.
Arnaiz’s body was found at the Ezekiel Funeral Homes weeks after he disappeared.
De Guzman’s body was fished out of a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija last Sept. 5. It bore at least 28 stab wounds with his head wrapped in packing tape and a shirt. (PNA)
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