More questions than answers

As soon as Tomas Bagcal issued a statement while under the protection of Rise Up For Life and For Rights, there seem to be more questions than answers. He confirms that Arnaiz indeed robbed him. But after the gun supposedly jammed, he was able to fight back and even give chase to the boy. A group of tricycle drivers and a barangay tanod apparently beat up Arnaiz when he was subdued. He was then brought to the Caloocan police station by Bagcal alive. After an hour in detention, Arnaiz was brought by Caloocan police from the precinct to the place where Bagcal was supposedly robbed, with police instructing the driver to follow them. This is where the boy was supposedly shot. There was no shootout. Bagcal further stressed that the previous two statements that the supposedly issued were not his. The police only asked for his name, age, date of birth and documents of the taxi he was driving.

But the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) believes that Carl Arnaiz was murdered elsewhere, and not in the place where the shootout apparently took place. Based on the evidence that they have collected, there is no indication that Arnaiz was shot there. They sifted the soil for bullets that went through the boy's body. Nothing. They looked for bullets or bullet holes in the walls. Nothing. There were no traces of blood on the ground, if Arnaiz was shot there. The vegetation of the area was not even disturbed. Arnaiz sustained four gunshots that went through and through. So where are the bullets?

The PNP has recently released a report that the body found in Nueva Ecija could not be Reynaldo de Guzman, because his DNA did not match the DNA of the parent. But Reynaldo's father positively identified his son based on several marks on his body. According to the PAO, DNA results may vary if the specimen is collected improperly or contaminated. The speed by which the PNP came out with the results also baffles the PAO, since previous DNA tests took months and were even outsourced in other countries. The PAO is convinced that it was Reynaldo who was found in Gapan, based on the tests they have made on the victim's face. This is to say that they do not value the PNP's DNA's findings.

Bagcal was supposed to face the Senate in its continued hearings on the death of the three teenagers, but the hearing was cancelled due to bad weather. Obviously, Bagcal is currently the important witness to this case. But based on what we have heard, he seems to be withholding more information. In recent developments, both the PAO and Sen. Lacson claim they have new witnesses to the Carl Arnaiz case. By all means, let them speak, so we may make sense of everything that is suddenly coming out. There are apparent moves to muddle the case, or to borrow the administration's term, sabotage. But the question is, who is behind it?    

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