PNP: It’s not ‘Kulot’

PAO: Yes it is; police muddling case

MANILA, Philippines — The body fished out of a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija barely a week ago was not that of 14-year-old Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday, citing results of DNA tests.

Deputy Director General Fernando Mendez Jr., PNP deputy chief for operations, said DNA samples from the remains of the boy found in Gapan did not match those of De Guzman’s biological parents Eduardo Gabriel and Lina Sta. Ana.

“Based on the results obtained, the source of the DNA profile obtained from the male cadaver cannot be the biological offspring of Eduardo Gabriel and Lina Sta. Ana,” Mendez told a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City. “He is not Reynaldo de Guzman based on the DNA examinations conducted.”

The announcement is likely to complicate the investigation on the case, which is linked to the killing of 19-year-old former University of the Philippines student Carl Angelo Arnaiz.

Reacting to the PNP announcement, Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Rueda-Acosta insisted it was De Guzman’s body that was found in Nueva Ecija last Sept. 6 as she accused some groups of muddling the investigation.

De Guzman and Arnaiz went missing after they left their homes in Cainta, Rizal on the night of Aug. 17 to buy snacks.

Around 10 days later Arnaiz’s parents would trace him to a local morgue in Caloocan City where his body had been kept since Aug. 18. Police said they killed Arnaiz who fought it out with responding policemen after robbing a taxi driver before dawn that day.

The body – earlier identified as belonging to De Guzman – bore 26 stab wounds and was found with packing tape and a shirt wrapped around its head.

Mendez said other agencies may conduct confirmatory DNA matching on the cadaver and on De Guzman’s parents.

“The accuracy of the test is what is the standard for a scientific investigation and if you are asking for numbers, that is 99.9 percent accurate,” Chief Insp. Lorna Santos, head of PNP’s DNA Division, said.

“We have the swabbing or biological samples from the alleged father and mother and compared it to the DNA obtained from the cadaver. So assuming the cadaver is the offspring of the two alleged parents dapat po sya mag-positive sa test. So based po dyan sa result if our assumption is the cadaver is the child of the alleged parent then the result is negative,” Santos explained.

De Guzman’s parents identified the body found in Gapan as his, pointing to familiar marks including a big wart on the knee and a scar behind his ear.

Mendez said he could not blame the parents for believing it was their son’s remains.

“Since it (body found in creek) was probably bloated, probably the physical description already changed so that’s why they thought it was the body of Reynaldo de Guzman. But the DNA test conducted tells us that it’s not De Guzman,” said Mendez.

With the findings of forensic experts, Mendez said the PNP would continue its investigation, including efforts to locate De Guzman as well as identify the remains found in Gapan.

“Since he is reported missing, we will continue looking for Reynaldo de Guzman,” said Mendez.

He stressed the conduct of DNA test was standard operating procedure.

He said the PNP is also looking into links of De Guzman’s death or disappearance to President Duterte’s claims saboteurs are trying to undermine his war on drugs.

Gapan police chief Supt. Peter Madria said they would continue to gather information and try to identify the body found in Kinamatayang Kabayo creek.

Cleared

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Oscar Albayalde said the DNA findings should vindicate policemen earlier accused of killing De Guzman.

“The suspicion circulating around is that De Guzman had been summarily executed by the Caloocan City policemen apparently to prevent him from testifying on Arnaiz}s case,” Albayalde said. “But with the findings that the body found in Nueva Ecija is not that of De Guzman, our policemen are vindicated of the suspicion.

“Though the face was covered with masking tape it was clear as there were no marks as the victim was stabbed in the body. The boy grew up under their care for 14 years and it was next to impossible for the parents not to properly identify their child,” said Albayalde.

When asked if De Guzman’s case was “scripted” to sabotage Duterte’s war against illegal drugs, Albayalde replied “it’s up to government investigators to unmask that theory.”

The NCRPO chief said their investigation is now centered on Arnaiz – specifically to determine if he had really tried to rob taxi driver Tomas Bagcal.

Albayalde said he was wondering why it took Bagcal a long time to surface and claim that Arnaiz’s killing was “scripted.”

“He accompanied policemen and a prosecutor to the scene twice. Why is it only now that he is under the care of a group did he reveal that the killing of Arnaiz was scripted?”

But the fact is, Albayalde said, Arnaiz was involved in an armed robbery.

“He was good looking in the picture shown on television but reports reaching us is that his face is now different because of drug use,” he said, referring to Arnaiz.

It’s Kulot, definitely

Acosta, meanwhile, insisted the body found in Gapan was definitely De Guzman’s even as she claimed there seemed to be efforts by some groups to muddle the issue and discredit the administration’s campaign against criminality.

“The parents have positively identified the body based on what he was wearing and (body) markings,” the PAO chief explained in a press conference.

She added that based on his parents’ accounts, De Guzman had a surgical scar in the neck and a wart on his knee – both found on the cadaver.

The PAO conducted forensic analysis on the cadaver and listed 28 stab wounds. The National Bureau of Investigation also conducted its own autopsy and found 26 stab wounds.

An earlier autopsy of the PNP, on the other hand, showed at least 30 stab wounds in the body.

Acosta further explained that a comparative analysis showed the face of the cadaver matching that of De Guzman’s, based on his pictures. She also pointed out that DNA testing is not accurate.

“The DNA is reliable if the specimen is safe. If it is contaminated, the findings, the results could be different,” she stressed. 

The PAO chief also dismissed insinuations that De Guzman could be an adopted child.

“They said Kulot was their biological son. That’s why they’re surprised by this development in the PNP because they could clearly tell that the cadaver is that of their son,” she pointed out.

Acosta expressed belief there is an attempt by some groups to muddle government’s investigation on the spate of killings of teenagers as she appealed to the media to be careful in reporting on the issue.

In the same press conference, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) founding chairman Dante Jimenez and parents of Carl Angelo and Kian delos Santos decried what they described as politicization of the killings.

“We express profound sadness and disgust over what some sectors have been doing relative to the cases of the young victims,” Jimenez stressed.

“It is heartbreaking to watch the cases of the three slain youths so insensitively manipulated and politicized by some sectors for their own agenda when what their families simply seek is justice for their murdered children,” he said.

Jimenez cited for instance Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ taking into custody witnesses in Kian’s killing.

“Please, if you bear grudges against the Duterte administration or if you have issues against the President’s war against drugs – don’t drag the poor victims’ families into your brand of dirty politics,” he said.

Jimenez then called on officials “not to politicize heinous crime cases and instead, help the families of the victims to obtain justice.” – Edu Punay, Non Alquitran