THE body of the teen believed to be that of missing 14-year-old Reynaldo De Guzman was buried Wednesday at the Pasig City Cemetery.
Despite claims by the police that the DNA of the boy was not matched with his supposed parents, De Guzman's parent, Eduardo and Lina Gabriel, pushed through with the funeral.
The remains received its final blessing at the San Antonio Abad Parish in Pasig City around 8 a.m. before being brought to the cemetery.
Family and friends of the 14-year-old De Guzman attended the funeral.
At the cemetery, Eduardo Gabriel maintained that the person they had been mourning for weeks and will lay to rest was their son.
"Anak ko talaga yan. Ako nagpalaki d'yan. Lahat ng palatandaan nandyan. Anak ko 'yan," he said as he cried justice over his son's death.
(He is really my son. I was the one who raised him. All the signs are there. It's my son)
A day before the burial, Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) went to the boy's wake supposedly to conduct an examination on the boy's corpse but the family refused to acknowledge and sign the letter.
"Nagbigay kami ng letter na kung pwede i-turn over o i-transfer sa PNP 'yung bangkay, tapos kung gusto nilang ipa-DNA ulit. I-assist namin kung saan gusto nila. 'Yun lang naman ang request namin," Senior Superintendent Wilson Asueta, chief of the CIDG-National Capital Region, clarified on Wednesday.
(We gave a letter requesting for the turnover or transfer of the corpse to the PNP since they want to subject it to another DNA testing. We will assist if they want. That was our request)
He said that if another party will claim of the cadaver, they will go to court to seek an order to put the corpse under their custody for further examination.
At the funeral, heavily-armed personnel of the Department of Justice's Witness Protection Program were guarding the Gabriel couple who were required to wear bullet proof vests all throughout the funeral service.
De Guzman, who had been missing since August 18, was the last companion of 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz, the robbery suspect who was gunned down by police officers on C3 Road in Caloocan City.
On September 5, the cadaver a teenager believed to be that of De Guzman was fished out of the creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija. The body had 30 stab wounds and his head was wrapped with packaging tape and cloth.
De Guzman's parent positively identified the body as their missing son's through a scar on the neck and wart on the knee area.
However, Monday, September 11, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said the DNA samples obtained from Eduardo and Lina did not match to that of the body believed to be De Guzman.
Eduardo refused to believe the DNA result and sought for another DNA examination to prove it was their son.
He said they will stop who ever would want to take away the body of their son in his tomb.
From the cemetery, De Guzman's parents along with their youngest child were brought to a WPP safe house.
The family earlier sought to be under the WPP after suspicious-looking men are going around near their house. (SunStar Philippines)