(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he has ordered Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre to take over the investigation of the killing of Carl Angelo Arnaiz.
President Duterte made the announcement in a speech during the anniversary celebration of the Social Security System.
It came minutes after news that Arnaiz’s 14-year-old companion, Reynaldo de Guzman, was found dead with around 30 stab wounds in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.
Police said his body had also been burnt.
“I will pursue cases against police, and they will go to jail if need be,” Duterte said.
He added he would “never ever condone or allow” the killing of “defenseless persons.”
Arnaiz and De Guzman went missing after they bought midnight snacks on Aug. 18.
Arnaiz was in a morgue in Caloocan for more than a week before his relatives found him.
The Caloocan Police said Arnaiz had held at gunpoint a taxi driver, who reported the supposed incident to patrolling policemen.
They said the police chased after Arnaiz, who fired at them, prompting them to retaliate.
But Arnaiz’s parents disputed the police account, saying the teenager appeared to have been tortured before he was killed.
For this, they said he bore handcuff marks and his eyes were swollen.
The Public Attorneys Office, which conducted an autopsy on the boy, also said the teenager appeared to have been kneeling when he was shot several times in the chest.
The Caloocan policemen involved in the supposed police operation have been relieved.
They also face criminal charges.
