MANILA (Updated) -- The body found in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, on September 5 is not that of missing 14-year-old Reynaldo De Guzman, police said on Monday.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory said the DNA from the cadaver did not match those of De Guzman.
"Based on the results obtained, the source of the DNA profile obtained from the male cadaver cannot be the biological offspring of Eduardo Gabriel y Sta. Ana and Lina De Guzman y Dagante," read the test findings on the cadaver found in Gapan.
Police said De Guzman's parents were inclined to believe the DNA test findings since it is "99.9 percent accurate."
"This means De Guzman is still missing," PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Director General Fernando Mendez.
For her part, Public Attorney's Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta said it was possible that the DNA test findings might be erroneous.
"Ang DNA reliable yan kung yung specimen ay same specimen. 'Pag nagkaroon ng mishandling of specimen pwede pong hindi matama ang findings," Acosta said insisting that De Guzman's parents themselves identified the cadaver of their son at a funeral parlor in Gapan.
(The DNA test is reliable if the specimens used are the same. Had there been a mishandling of the specimen the finding might be incorrect.)
PAO's comparative analysis, she said, also confirmed that the cadaver found in a creek in Gapan exactly matches the photo of De Guzman.
Acosta said someone could be confusing the investigation.
"Parang may nanggugulo sa kasong ito. Iba-iba lumalabas," she said.
(Someone is trying to disrupt this case. The results are different)
The body recovered in a creek in Barangay San Roque, Gapan, had 31 stab wounds and his face was covered with packaging tape and cloth.
De Guzman's parents identified the body as their son's when they visited the funeral parlor on September 6.
De Guzman was the missing companion of Carl Angelo Arnaiz, who was killed by police officers after he allegedly robbed a taxi driver on August 17 on C3 Road, Caloocan City. (ABC/Third Anne Peralta/Keith Calayag/SunStar Philippines)