The father of slain student Carl Angelo Arnaiz welcomed the decision of a Navotas regional trial court (RTC) to deny the bail petition of the two police officers tagged in his son’s killing in 2017.
Carlito Arnaiz said the path toward justice for the death of his son is now clearer since Patrolman Jeffrey Perez will now have to face a full-blown trial for allegedly murdering Carl.
“That’s good news for us. We are happy that that happened,” he said during an interview on Saturday, a day before Carl’s second death anniversary.
“We now have hope that Carl will get justice for what happened to him, and we thank God for that,” he added.
Carlito reiterated that he believes his son was innocent and the accusations against Carl of being a holdupper and drug user were false.
“Alam naman namin na wala siyang kasalanan, nabiktima lang siya,” he said.
Navotas RTC Branch 287 Judge Romana Lindayag del Rosario said in her August 6 order that bail was not a matter of right for Perez and Patrolman Ricky Arquilita since the evidence of guilt against them is strong.
However, Perez will have to face trial alone. The case against Arquilita was dropped after he died in detention due to hepatitis.
“With the evidence thus presented by the prosecution, the Court finds the evidence sufficient to sustain the continued prosecution of the accused without opportunity to post bail,” Del Rosario’s order read.
“There is reason to uphold therefore the constitutional provision which provides that in crimes punishable by Reclusion Perpetua, when the evidence of guilt is strong, bail is not a matter of right,” it added.
Carl, a 19-year-old University of the Philippines student, went missing on August 17, 2017 after he went out of his house in Cainta, Rizal, to buy snacks.
He was found dead with five gunshot wounds and other injuries 10 days later in a morgue in Caloocan City.
An eyewitness said he saw Perez and Arquilita shooting Arnaiz to death in a secluded area in Navotas City on August 18, 2017.
The prosecution’s presentation of evidence-in-chief will resume on August 30. (Minka Tiangco)
