Cop in Carl Arnaiz slay hospitalized

MANILA, Philippines — The Navotas regional trial court (RTC) has ordered one of the policemen accused of murdering teenager Carl Angelo Arnaiz to formally inform the court of his medical condition after he has been missing hearings supposedly due to his hospital confinement.

During Monday’s hearing, RTC Branch 287 Judge Romana Maria Melchora Lindayag-del Rosario directed the Valenzuela Medical Center to submit a medical bulletin on the condition of Patrolman Ricky Arquilita.

Defense counsel Dodjie Encinas told the court Arquilita has been confined for hepatitis B. Only his co-accused Patrolman Jefrey Perez had been able to attend their bail hearings.

The defense agreed to waive Arquilita’s participation in the next hearings until he recovers from his condition.

The two stand accused of killing Arnaiz, 19, at a grassy area in Navotas on Aug. 18, 2017 and moving the body to make it appear to be a shootout in Caloocan. They are also accused of murdering Arnaiz’s 14-year-old companion, Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman, whose body was found floating in a creek in Nueva Ecija.

In Monday’s hearing, Master Sergeant Noel Bollosa, a colleague of the two accused, admitted in court there were lapses in their investigation into Arnaiz’s death, such as his failure as an investigator to coordinate with the Caloocan police chief first or conduct an assessment of the crime scene before calling on the Scene of the Crime Operatives.

Bollosa also denied in court knowing the accused cops’ plan of setting up a second crime scene to stage a shootout in Caloocan after killing the teenager in Navotas, which for the prosecution is an admission there were two crime scenes.

“It only bolsters the fact that there was hocus pocus that happened,” Department of Justice State Prosecutor Xerxes Garcia said after the hearing.