Caloocan police PO1 Jeffrey Perez and PO1 Ricky Arquilita, who were involved in the death of Carl Angelo Arnaiz, in a Senate hearing in 2017. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File.
MANILA — A Navotas court has convicted a former cop of murdering two teenagers killed under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
Navotas Regional Trial Court Branch 287 sentenced dismissed cop Jefrey Sumbo Perez to reclusion perpetua, or up to 40 years imprisonment, for the 2017 killing of teenagers Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo "Kulot" de Guzman, based on a copy of the dispositive portion of the ruling, which the court confirmed in a phone call by ABS-CBN News.
Perez is also ordered to pay the families of Arnaiz and De Guzman hundreds of thousands worth of damages.
A full copy of the ruling is not yet available.
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 was found a month later in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija with 25 stab wounds.
In November 2022, a Caloocan court found Perez guilty of 2 separate counts of torturing Arnaiz and De Guzman, and of planting plastic sachets of marijuana, shabu and a revolver to make it appear that Arnaiz resisted arrest.
Police claimed that Arnaiz, a 19-year-old ex-UP student, robbed a taxi driver and was killed in a shootout.
But a witness said he saw Arnaiz alight from a police vehicle in handcuffs, knelt in front of Perez, raised his hands and pleaded “susuko na ako” before Perez shot him three times.
Perez’s conviction is only the second known murder conviction under the drug war and the third conviction, if his prior conviction for torture and planting of evidence is included.
The Philippine government has consistently cited the conviction of 3 cops over the death of Kian delos Santos as proof that the justice system in the country is working, even as the International Criminal Court has decided to resume its probe.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Carl Arnaiz, Reynaldo de Guzman, war on drugs, Caloocan City Police, Jefrey Perez, Navotas Regional Trial Court Branch 286, Navotas RTC