Conviction is only the second under PH’s bloody drug war

MANILA — After 5 years, a Caloocan court has convicted a cop of planting evidence and torturing two teenaged drug war victims who were eventually killed in 2017.

In a decision dated November 10, Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 122 Judge Rodrigo Pascua, Jr. found PO1 Jefrey Perez guilty of two separate counts of torturing Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo “Kulot” De Guzman and of planting plastic sachets of marijuana, shabu and a revolver to make it appear that Arnaiz resisted arrest.

Arnaiz and De Guzman went missing on August 17, 2017.

Arnaiz’s body was later found on August 28 in a funeral parlor in Caloocan City with several gunshot wounds.

De Guzman’s body, on the other hand, was found a month later in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija with 25 stab wounds.

• Caloocan cops 'intentionally killed' Carl Arnaiz: PNP-IAS
• Cops in Arnaiz-De Guzman slay assert 'nanlaban' narrative

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT DISPROVES POLICE VERSION

Police had claimed that Arnaiz, a 19-year-old former University of the Philippines student, allegedly robbed a taxi driver and was killed in a shootout when he supposedly fired at responding police officers.

But a witness, Arnold Perlada, testified that he saw a man he would later identify through TV reports as Arnaiz, alight from a police vehicle in handcuffs in the wee hours of August 18, 2017.

Arnaiz supposedly knelt in front of a police officer he identified as Perez, raised his hands and pleaded “susuko na ako” before Perez shot him three times.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

Perlada also saw another cop, PO1 Ricky Arquilita, who allegedly removed Arnaiz’s handcuffs, placed a gun on one hand and fired it twice.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

Separate murder charges for the deaths of Arnaiz and De Guzman are still pending before a Navotas court.

Arquilita meanwhile died in the course of the trial and the cases against him were dropped, following a rule that death extinguishes a person’s criminal liability.

CONVICTION AND PENALTIES

In convicting Perez of violating RA 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, the court cited Perlada’s testimony that Arquilita planted a gun on Arnaiz. And since there was conspiracy between the two, it ruled, “the act of one is the act of the other.”

The court sentenced him to reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years in prison.

The court also sentenced Perez to 2 terms of life imprisonment under RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act for planting 3 sachets of shabu in the backpack of Arnaiz and 2 sachets of marijuana on his right pocket, after another police officer who responded to the scene testified he did not see anything other than Arnaiz’s body, empty shells and a firearm beside him.

It ruled Perez and Arquilita “had full control of the crime scene and had all the opportunity to plant incriminating evidence” on Arnaiz’s body.

The court however had to rely on circumstantial evidence to prove that Perez and Arquilita were responsible for the torture of Arnaiz and De Guzman.

Aside from Perlada’s testimony, it relied on the findings of Public Attorneys Office forensic consultant Dr. Erwin Erfe who found that Arnaiz suffered blunt injuries on his face which resulted in swelling, contusions and abrasions.

Erfe noted 25 stab wounds in different parts of De Guzman’s body, abrasions, swellings and other wounds, including the head, neck, hand and wrists.

All of the injuries were supposedly inflicted when the two were still alive.

“Considering the close proximity of time (10 p.m. of August 17, 2017), when both Carl [Arnaiz] and Kulot [De Guzman] were last seen in good shape, and (at about 2 a.m. of August 18, 2017) when Perlada saw Carl and another small person under the custody of the accused, a reasonable inference could be drawn that the accused PO1 Perez and PO1 Arquilita to the exclusion of all others committed the torture wounds and injuries found in the bodies of the victims,” the court said.

“Notably, that the last time Carl and Kulot were seen alive was when they were under custody of herein accused. Also, the Forensic Report confirmed that Carl and Kulot injuries were inflicted while they were still living,” it added.

The court sentenced Perez to up to 4 years and 2 months jail time for the torture of Arnaiz and reclusion perpetua for torturing De Guzman, who was then a minor.

RA 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act imposes the penalty of reclusion perpetua if torture is committed against children.

Perez is also required to pay 2 millions pesos in damages to each of the heirs of Arnaiz and De Guzman, apart from the compensation they can claim under RA 7309, the law which created a Board of Claims under the DOJ for the victims of unjust imprisonment or detention and victims of violent crimes.

ONLY THE SECOND DRUG WAR CONVICTION

The killings of Arnaiz and De Guzman in 2017, along with the earlier killing of Kian Loyd delos Santos just weeks prior, became one of the most controversial periods of the Philippines’ anti-drug campaign which led to a temporary halt of then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s flagship program.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

Prior to the Perez’s conviction, the Philippine government had touted the conviction of 3 cops for the killing of Delos Santos as proof the justice system in the country is working, in resisting a probe by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the thousands of drug war-related deaths in the country.

But even with the new conviction, human rights groups and civil society organizations like the Philippine Coalition for the ICC believe the convictions are too little, too late.

“The conviction of policeman [Jefrey] Perez for torture and planting of evidence is a welcome development amidst impunity, but we are not satisfied. This is only a drop in a bucket, considering the about 30,000 cases of killings in the War on Drugs,” PCICC co-chair and spokesperson Dr. Aurora Parong.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the ruling.

“Good news like this have been slow in coming but this is very, very welcome indeed. This conviction, only the second in a drug war case, is most welcome and encouraging,” HRW senior Philippines researcher Carlos Conde said.

“This boosts the morale and lifts the spirit of the families of the victims of drug war violence. It affirms the hope that, no matter how long it takes, justice can still happen, that accountability is still possible. We are hoping that the courts will act on the many other cases pending before them,” he added.