The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the conviction of Police Officer 1 Jefrey Perez in the torture and planting of evidence charges against Carl Arnaiz and Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman. According to the court, “the future of the two children was lost” because of a system that was supposed to protect but turned out to be abusive. They called it the harsh reality of the wrongdoings of some police officers.
Carl, 19 years old, is an honor student and has entered the University of the Philippines. Kulot, 14 years old, is in Grade 5 and still helps the family by selling fish and working in construction. They were last seen alive with Perez on August 17, 2017, at 10 p.m.
Witness Arnold Perlada said he saw Carl in handcuffs and shouting “Give up!” before Perez shot him. After that, the handcuffs were removed and the shooting continued. The defense insisted that a robbery and shootout had occurred, but the court did not believe this.
The CA rejected Perez's appeal and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua and life sentences without parole. The court only reduced the damages from ₱2 million to ₱50,000 to ₱75,000 for each of the victim's families. In addition, he is barred from working in a government office at any time.
The CA left a strong reminder: “The peace of the nation should never be exchanged for human life.” They also said that they hope this will serve as living proof that even though the system has problems, justice can still be achieved through the right means.
