According to him, 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 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.
Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Judge Rodrigo Pascua Jr. sentenced PO1 Jefrey Perez to life imprisonment for the torture and planting of evidence of Carl Arnaiz and Reynaldo “Kulot” De Guzman.
Arnaiz was killed by Caloocan police officers on August 18, 2017 after allegedly robbing a taxi cab driver, but an eyewitness contradicted the police report and said he saw him in handcuffs, alight from a police vehicle in the wee hours of Aug 18 before he was shot three times by Perez.
Another policeman, PO1 Ricky Arquilita, allegedly removed Arnaiz handcuffs, placed a gun on one hand and fired it twice.
Meanwhile, De Guzman, Arnaiz’s companion, was later found dead with 25 stab wounds on his body in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.
For her part, 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’ 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 told reporters in the same NBP event.
Acosta said the decision on the on the murder case of Arnaiz and De Guzman may be promulgated by the court next month or January 2023.
“May formal offer of evidence na ang accused and the case will be set for resolution, for promulgation. I think before December ends or early part of January there shall be a decision,” Acosta said.
“We are optimistic that the same decision will come out since we have the same witnesses,’ she added.
