Baguio court finds police colonel guilty of homicide for 2016 drug war slay

A Baguio court has convicted a police official for homicide over the death of Ryan Dave Almora, a resident who was killed during the height of the government’s war on drugs in July 2016.

In its decision, the Baguio Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 60 sentenced Police Colonel Dante Lubos to 10 years to 14 years, eight months, and one day of imprisonment.

Aside from this, the court ordered him to pay the complainant, P1.7 million as actual damages, P173,500 as attorney’s fees and cost of suit, P100,000 as moral damages, P50,000 as exemplary damages, and P50,000 as civil indemnity.

The court said all the award for damages shall earn a 6% interest per annum until fully paid. 

In its ruling, the court did not give weight to Lubos’ defense that Almora was the first to fire shots, noting that the hands of Almora did not contain gunpowder nitrates and there was a lack of physical evidence to prove that he fired a gun.

“In view of all the foregoing evidence, the self-serving claim of the accused that there was unlawful aggression on the part of the accused necessitating him to retaliate and defend himself could not be sustained,” the court said.

The Court also ruled that Almora’s injuries did not indicate that he was in a position to fight back as he sustained two gunshot wounds in his chest and one in his abdomen.

It said that the trajectory of the gunshot wounds appear to be downward, which suggests that the assailant or assailants was positioned from a higher elevation than Almora.

Aside from this, the RTC said that there was a discrepancy in the testimonies of two participants in the buy-bust operation. 

One claimed that gunshots were heard 10 to 15 minutes after the authorities and the civilian informant entered the victim’s residence while the other testified that gunshots were heard only a few seconds after they entered.

“Unfortunately for the accused, he failed to prove the existence of any of the justifying circumstances claimed as his defenses. The inevitable conclusion therefore is that the accused is guilty of the crime of homicide beyond reasonable doubt,” the decision read. — RF, GMA Integrated News