MANILA, Philippines – The apparent murder of 14-year-old Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman has left Malacañang profoundly dismayed, said Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella.

“It is with profound dismay that we regard the disturbing death of 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman,” he said on Thursday, September 7, during a Palace news briefing.

Malacañang reacted to the teenager’s death a day after his body was found in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, weeks after he was last seen with Carl Angelo Arnaiz, a boy killed while being chased by Caloocan police.

De Guzman’s body was riddled with 30 stab wounds and his head wrapped in packaging tape and plastic.

The Duterte administration is determined to investigate his death.

“The National Bureau of Investigation has already been ordered ordered to conduct a thorough investigaiton and case build-up over the killing of the young boy,” said Abella.

“We call on authorities to bring the perpetrators of this suspicious crime to justice,” he added.

‘Rethinking’

The deaths of De Guzman, Arnaiz, and Kian delos Santos, all teenagers, have prompted a “rethinking” of the drug war, said Duterte’s spokesman.

“The fact that the PNP is being investigated, that there are Senate hearings, this indicates that the whole nation is in the process of rethinking how we do things and so that is a part now of the entire restructuring and redoing,” he said.

As in the case of Delos Santos and Arnaiz, Malacañang promised an “impartial investigation” and that there will be no attempts to “white-wash” the deaths.

Asked if Malacañang is now open to the creation of a task force to investigate or prevent extrajudicial killings, Abella said the Palace is “open” to all “significant, workable solutions.”

After the deaths of these teenagers, Duterte said he does not condone the killing of youths. His critics, however, have said his kill threats and promises of protection have emboldened police to abuse their authority in implementing the drug war. – Rappler.com