THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to locate the taxi driver allegedly robbed by slain teenager Carl Angelo Arnaiz.
Cab driver Tomas Bagcal's reported to Caloocan police that he was robbed by the teenager prompting the police officers to search and kill the 19-year-old former student of the University of the Philippines (UP) during an alleged shootout.
Police officers seized from Arnaiz possession the wallet allegedly owned by the cab driver containing P450, shabu, and marijuana.
In a chance interview Thursday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said that he has also directed the NBI to probe the factual circumstances that transpired prior to Arnaiz' killing.
The NBI was further authorized to conduct case build up and file appropriate charges with the DOJ once it has concluded its probe.
Aguirre said he is open to the possibility of placing Bagcal under the DOJ's Witness Protection Program, depending on what he will divulge.
"Kung siya ay talagang hinoldap, then siya ang biktima pero kung hindi naman at siya ay gumawa lamang ng salaysay na hindi totoo, then pwede siyang makasama sa idedemanda kaya importanteng importante na makuha natin ang taxi driver na'to," Aguirre said.
Bagcal in his affidavit said Arnaiz, armed with a .38-caliber pistol, entered his taxi in Navotas City on August 18 and told him to bring him to Fifth Avenue in Caloocan City.
There, Arnaiz declared a holdup, hit him in the head and took his wallet.
The NBI is conducting its own investigation into the death of Arnaiz, whose body was found at a funeral parlor 10 days after his death.
The forensics analysis by the Public Attorney's Office last week revealed that Arnaiz was tortured before he was killed. (VoxPop Philippines)
