Murder raps filed vs 2 cops, cab driver for two Caloocan deaths

September 14, 2017

The families of slain former UP student Carl Angelo Arnaiz and companion Reynaldo  de Guzman on Thursday asked the Department of Justice to prosecute two Caloocan City policemen implicated in the twin killings.

Carl Angelo’s parents Carlito and Eva and De Guzman’s parents Eddie and Lina accused Police Officers 1 Ricky Arquilita and Jeffrey Perez of involvement in the double murder, torture and planting of evidence under Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, and RA 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

The complainants included as respondent Tomas Bagcal, the taxi driver who accused Carl Angelo of robbing him before being killed by police.

Public Attorney's Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, who is helping the complainants in filing the charges, said Bagcal was implicated as a co-conspirator in the killings.

"We believe he had knowledge of the twin killings. He should be brought here in the DOJ to explain his inconsistent affidavits," Acosta said.

Perez and Arquilita had claimed they shot Arnaiz in a gunfight early August 18 after the teenager allegedly robbed Bagcal.

But the complaint cited  witnesses - including an eyewitness who saw Carl Angelo's killing - and forensic evidence to debunk the policemen's claim.

Forensic exam on Carl Angelo's cadaver showed he was kneeling when he was shot several times on the chest, suggesting “intentional killing" on the part of the police.

The autopsy on de Guzman showed he sustained about 28 stab wounds.

His body was found last Sept. 5 floating in a creek in Nueva Ecija with his head wrapped in tape. However the PNP Crime Laboratory said DNA tests showed the body was not de Guzman's. DMS