Palace: No whitewash in probe on Carl Angelo’s death

There will be an impartial and thorough investigation into the death of 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

“We assure the public that there will be no whitewash and that there’ll be a thorough and impartial investigation, and those who will be found responsible will be made accountable before our laws,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said during a briefing in Malacañang.

In a sworn affidavit, Caloocan City Police Officers 1 Jeffrey Perez and Ricky Arquilita said Arnaiz robbed taxi driver Tomas Bagcal on C3 Road in Caloocan City, hit him on the head with a gun, took his wallet, and then fled the scene.

The incident in question happened on August 18.

Bagcal then asked for help from policemen patrolling the area to apprehend the suspect whose description fir Arnaiz but the latter allegedly opened fire on them when they accosted him, prompting them to fire back.

But on Tuesday, Dr. Erwin Erfe, forensic expert of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) said there was something wrong with the policemen's claim in that Arnaiz appeared to have been handcuffed and was on his knees when he was shot two to three times in the chest.

The Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory, however, said their test confirmed  Arnaiz was positive for gunpowder nitrates. — Trisha Macas/RSJ/KVD, GMA News