Patriarch intent on pushing through with funeral for ‘Kulot’

Nothing will stop the father of 14-year-old Reynaldo "Kulot" De Guzman from burying the cadaver discovered in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija as his missing son.

"Ginugulo lang po nila, ang tingin ko. Pero anak ko po iyang nakaburol na iyan dahil...kami po 'yung nagpalaki niyan eh," De Guzman's father, Eduardo Gabriel, said on GMA 7 news program "24 Oras" on Tuesday.

"Kaya unang kita ko palang, anak ko na ho talaga iyan. Patay na ho 'yung bata...kami pa ho ang...napapasama," he added.

Gabriel was enraged after receiving word that Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) police officers had been ordered to reclaim the remains at his son's wake in Cainta, Rizal.

Gabriel and his wife Lina were out having lunch with Public Attorney's Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta and representatives from the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) when they received the news.

Alarmed, the parents quickly called relatives at the wake.

"Wala akong pinirmahan diyan. Bangkay namin 'yan. Patay namin 'yan. Di kanila 'yan. Wala silang karapatang kuhanin 'yan," Gabriel had said during the phone conversation.

‘Eskandalo’

Acosta meanwhile questioned the PNP's actions.

"Eskandalo 'yung gagawin nila. Aba, anong mararamdaman ng mga magulang? Namatayan na, nanakawin pa nila ang anak nila?" she said.

The National Bureau of Investigation had identified the body as that of their son, and had issued the family a certificate stating so.

"Sinertify po ng NBI na ito nga si Reynaldo. Walang iba... Si Reynaldo ito. Ano pa ba ang pinag-duda ng PNP? Eh 'yung mga magulang ay hindi nagdududa," Acosta added.

The effort to reclaim the body came after a PNP Crime Lab DNA test concluded that corpse was not the "biological offspring" of Gabriel and his wife.

However, the PAO chief called the DNA test itself "illegal".

"Alam naman nila ang mga magulang ay mayroong abogado, Public Attorney's Office. Bakit hindi man lang ininter-agency 'yan, kunin ang aming konsento dahil kung kami ang tatanungin nila, hindi kami magbibigay ng konsento dahil walang issue sa identification," Acosta said.

"Wala namang ibang claimant," she added.

Indicators

Meanwhile, the PAO's forensic consultant, Dr. Erwin Erfe, clarified whether the body's privates had been circumcised or not, an identifying issue the PNP had raised earlier.

"If you look closely, mayroong evidence na circumcised siya. Kaya lang may overgrowth of penile skin," Erfe said.

Gabriel had also said that the corpse's big toe had a dead nail, another indication that the body was his son. Furthermore, the hole-like scar near the ear and the bump of skin that grew below the knee were additional indicators.

The Nueva Ecija police investigators said they ordered the DNA test because the discovery was regarded as a "high-profile" case.

Gabriel, who had earlier asked for another DNA tests, called it off and  instead arranged for a funeral Wednesday on morning at the Pasig Public Cemetery. 

"(Para) matahimik na 'yung kaluluwa niya sa sementeryo at matahimik na kami," the mother added. — Margaret Claire Layug/DVM, GMA News