Double murder raps filed vs. cops, taxi driver linked to Carl, Kulot killings

Relatives of slain teenagers Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo "Kulot" de Guzman on Thursday filed a double murder complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against two policemen and the taxi driver linked to their deaths.

Assisted by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), the parents of Arnaiz and De Guzman slapped a complaint for double murder against Police Officers 1 Jeffrey Perez and Ricky Arquilita of the Caloocan City Police and taxi driver Tomas Bagcal.

Parents of Carl Arnaiz, Reynaldo de Guzman file a complaint for double murder with DOJ vs cops linked to the teenagers' deaths. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/UMJ8AkILeK

— Virgil Lopez (@virgillopez) September 14, 2017

The three men were also charged with torture and planting of evidence under Section 29 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 or Republic Act 9165 and Republic Act 10591 or Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

The complaint leaned on the forensic analysis on the injuries of Arnaiz and De Guzman and the testimonies of alias Kai and Joe Daniel who supposedly saw how Arnaiz was killed.

The 21-year-old Joe Daniel also said he saw Arnaiz with a smaller companion inside the police mobile that parked along C3 Road where Arnaiz was shot to death in the wee hours of August 18.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police welcomed the filing of charges against the police officers allegedly involved in the deaths of Arnaiz and De Guzman.

"We welcome the filing of criminal charges so that the alleged suspect/s will have their opportunity to defend themselves before the court," PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said in a text message to GMA News Online.

PAO chief Persida Acosta, for her part, challenged Bagcal to clear his name.

"Linisin niya pangalan niya, lumitaw siya dito, baka gawin pa siyang state witness ng Department of Justice. Basta may kondisyon ako: Magsabi siya ng buong katotohanan sapagkat hindi po namin ipapagamit ang opisina namin sa sinungaling,” Acosta said.

She said they included Bagcal in the charge sheet for being part of the conspiracy to kill Arnaiz and De Guzman.

"Dala-dalawang statement, tapos may version siya na nang-holdap si Carl. Bakit ganun? Parang kasabwat siya," Acosta said.

‘Gunfight’

Perez and Arquilita had claimed that they killed Arnaiz in a gunfight in the wee hours of August 18 after the teenager allegedly robbed Bagcal. However, the PAO said based on their forensic analysis, the 19-year-old was handcuffed and possibly kneeling down when he was shot dead.

De Guzman was the last person seen alive with Arnaiz in Cainta, Rizal. A body believed by PAO and his parents to be his, bearing 26 stab wounds, was found in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija on September 6.

The Philippine National Police, however, came out on Monday with DNA testing results showing the body recovered from the creek was not that of the 14-year-old De Guzman.

De Guzman's parents, Eduardo and Lina Gabriel, and the PAO cried foul over the results and rejected the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group's request to claim the body for further examination.

Eduardo also refused to do another DNA test and instead presented the death certificate from the National Bureau of Investigation's Medico-Legal Division as proof of the identity of the body.

De Guzman was laid to rest on Wednesday at the Pasig Public Cemetery while Arnaiz was interred at a Pateros cemetery on September 5. — with Amita Legaspi/KG/RSJ/KVD, GMA News