SEN. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday said the guilty verdict handed down by a Caloocan City court on cops who tortured and planted evidence on two teenagers who were later found dead shows the country’s criminal justice system is working.
Dela Rosa made the remark after the Caloocan City court found city police officers Jeffrey Perez and Ricky Arquilita guilty of torturing and planting evidence against Carl Arnaiz, 19, and Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman, 14. They were found dead in separate places after they were reported missing in August 2017 shortly after going for a midnight snack.
PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the police force respects the decision of the Caloocan City court, adding: “The decision was a result of a fair full-blown trial hence, we believe that the accused was given his day in court to present his side.”
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, meanwhile, said impunity has no place in the country.
“We don’t want impunity to rule in our country. We will never succumb to impunity,” Remulla told reporters in an ambush interview.
Arquilita died of an illness in April 2019 while the trial was ongoing.
The two cops were also charged for the murder of Arnaiz and De Guzman but a Navotas City court has yet to hand down a ruling.
Perez has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Dela Rosa, the PNP chief during the Duterte administration’s aggressive war on illegal drugs, said he did not order the killing of Arnaiz and De Guzman amid suggestions that high police officials could have ordered the extrajudicial killing.
“Let us investigate who that official was because later on you will say that it was on the order of the chief PNP or was ordered by the President to kill those children. I have not issued such an order. What I have ordered then was for policemen to work for the anti-illegal drugs campaign and if you do right, we are right behind you, but if you commit abuses, then you will have problems,” Dela Rosa said.
He said cases against cops involved in extrajudicial killings at the height of the drug war had been filed by the PNP, adding the cases of Arnaiz and De Guzman, along with that of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, involved only a few abusive policemen.
“We never tolerate abuses by the police,” he added.
Aside from life imprisonment, Perez was also ordered to pay the heirs of Arnaiz and De Guzman P2 million each.
Azurin said the acts committed by Perez “do not reflect the views of the whole PNP organization,” adding “the PNP has always maintained its stance to uphold the rule of law in all its undertakings.”
Azurin said Perez had been dismissed from the service on October 4, 2018.
“This has been a manifestation that the PNP does not tolerate wrongdoings committed within its own ranks and is fully committed in the implementation of its internal cleansing program,” said Azurin.
SHIFT IN STRATEGY
Azurin said the PNP has shifted its strategy in the fight against illegal drugs and crimes and is now utilizing a “more holistic approach in combating crimes which would involve the church and the community through our Kasimbayanan (Kapulisan, Simbahan at Pamayanan) program.
“The PNP however, cannot promise a zero casualty in its police operations; the safety of our personnel is also a priority,” he said.
“They (policemen) need to defend themselves when attacked or the lives of innocent civilians are on the line but with the strict observance of human rights at all times. We are keen on observing different approaches ion our anti-crime campaign to minimize, if not avoid, armed confrontations in our police operations,” Azurin said.
Remulla said the Marcos administration will never tolerate abuses committed by state security forces.
In his speech early this month before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Remulla said reforms in the country’s criminal justice and law enforcement system are underway to “dispel the notion that impunity is taking place in the Philippines.
“We will dispel the mistaken notion that there is a culture of impunity in our country. We will not tolerate the denial of justice nor any violation of human rights,” he said.
Public Attorneys Office chief Persida Acosta said the close cooperation between the National Bureau of Investigation, the prosecution panel and the PAO forensic team paved the way for Perez’s conviction.
“The body speaks for itself. The bodies of the two teenagers show the injuries sustained during the torture while they are still alive,” Acosta said, adding the decision on the murder cases of Arnaiz and De Guzman may be promulgated by the court next month or January next year.
Police seized P136,000 worth of suspected dangerous drugs and arrested a 57-year-old man in a buy-bust operation in Cainta Rizal, last Wednesday.
Col. Dominic Baccay, Rizal PNP Provincial director, identified the suspect as Francisco Gregorio of Barangay San Andres, Cainta, Rizal. — With Victor Reyes, Ashzel Hachero and Christian Oineza
