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EXCLUSIVE: Spanish parents face Siargao cops accused of killing son in ‘drug buy-bust’

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Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

<h3>Parents: Diego Bello Lafuente is only Spanish and European killed in Duterte’s drug war</h3>MANILA — They waited for almost 4 years and traveled more than 7,000 miles just to see the faces of the cops accused of killing their son.Pilar Lafuente and Alberto Bello, the parents of a Spaniard slain in an alleged drug buy-bust operation in Siargao in 2020, faced for the first time on Wednesday the 3 cops accused of being behind his death.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2881226" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>Dressed in bright orange shirts, police captain Wise Vicente Panuelos and police staff sergeants Ronel Pazo and Nido Boy Cortes were flanked by more than a dozen fellow-cops guarding them just outside Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 1, where they are facing murder and planting of evidence charges over the killing of Diego Bello Lafuente on the island of Siargao in southeastern Philippines. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2881224" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>Alberto told ABS-CBN News that he felt angry at the sight of the cops.“It’s really hard to see them for the first time but we need to be here... We want the 3 policemen to show their faces because they killed my son,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.“I don’t really know what they were thinking because I can’t understand how 3 guys can kill a man knowing perfectly that Diego was not what they were saying,” Pilar said.Diego arrived in Siargao in 2018 as a tourist, but later put up his own business establishments and had around 30 employees at the time of his death.While they knew about the drug war in the Philippines, Pilar said they never imagined their son would get caught up in an incident involving drugs. <div>TIMELINE</div><table align="left" bgcolor="dbc8ae" border="0" cellPadding="10" cellSpacing="1" style="width:100%"><tbody><tr><td>			January 8, 2020 - Diego Bello Lafuente is killed in what cops claimed was an armed encounter although the NBI concluded Diego was unarmed.			January 10, 2020 - Commission on Human Rights (CHR) condemns the killing and calls for an autopsy.			July 31, 2020 - CHR Region 13 concludes it was doubtful Diego fired first and that police used excessive force. It recommends forwarding the records of the case to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for evidence gathering and criminal prosecution and to the Office of the Ombudsman for probe on administrative liability.			September 13, 2021 - NBI concludes Diego was not armed and that the alleged armed encounter was only a “scenario.”			October 19, 2021 - The Department of Justice releases a table of 52 cases submitted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Internal Affairs Service for review by a panel, as part of the Philippines’ commitment to the United Nations Human Rights Council			March 3, 2022 - The Office of the Prosecutor General indicts 3 cops for Diego’s killing.			July 6, 2022 - CHR urges PNP to locate the 3 cops and implement their arrest warrants.			February 15, 2023 - Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announces the surrender of the 3 cops			August 4, 2023 - Dapa, Surigao del Norte regional trial court (RTC) cancels hearings in view of change of venue			September 6, 2023 - Manila RTC starts hearing the cases against the 3 cops			</td></tr></tbody></table><div>-- WHAT HAPPENED --</div>The cops claimed that Diego was allegedly the number 1 drug personality in the Caraga region, who supposedly resisted arrest in a buy-bust operation in the wee hours of January 8, 2020, that led to his death.Allegedly recovered from him was a .45 caliber pistol and 8 grams of cocaine.But the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) found that Diego was not armed. It said he was not a registered firearm holder and the gun turned out to be registered in the name of a Manila-based company that also denied owning it.The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Region 13 office and the barangay also said Diego was not a drug personality.Instead, the NBI described the alleged armed encounter as a “scenario.” A ballistics exam showed that the locations of fired cartridge cases were inconsistent with an armed encounter.The NBI also found that Diego suffered 6 gunshot wounds, the last one when he was already half-seated or half-lying.A DOJ panel of prosecutors affirmed the findings of the NBI, and the Office of the Prosecutor General indicted the 3 cops for murder and planting of evidence on March 3, 2022.“The physical evidence shows that the placement of the fired cartridge cases (FCC) from the service firearms (9mm) of PCapt. Panuelos and PSgt. Cortes and the FCCs from the alleged firearm (Cal. 45) of Diego Lafuente were in close distance with each other, found in a triangular area. If indeed there was a shootout, the placement of the FCCs should be in opposite sides,” a DOJ press briefer said.“Moreover, the investigation shows that after Diego Lafuente jumped over the perimeter wall, he was shot by PSgt. Cortes as evidenced by a 9mm FCC found underneath the ground located near the area where Diego Lafuente was lying. The crossmatching examination revealed that the 9mm FCC matched with and was fired from the firearm of PSgt. Cortes,” it added.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/04/22/3-cops-indicted-over-death-of-spanish-drug-suspect">3 cops indicted over death of Spanish drug suspect</a></li></ul>While murder and planting of evidence charges were filed with the Dapa RTC in Surigao del Norte, it was not until February 15, 2023 that the DOJ announced the surrender of the 3 cops.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/15/23/cops-in-2020-slay-of-spanish-national-in-siargao-surrender">Cops in 2020 slay of Spanish national in Siargao yield to authorities: DOJ</a></li></ul>The case was eventually transferred to the Manila RTC in September of this year.The cops, in the meantime, had filed petitions for bail. As part of court procedure, the prosecution is required to present its evidence to prove that the evidence is strong enough to warrant the denial of the bail petitions.The prosecution on Wednesday presented a ballistician from the NBI to discuss her findings. But the defense challenged her expertise, prompting the court to ask the ballistician to present her credentials in court. She will continue testifying on December 13.Both of Diego&#x27;s parents expressed confidence in the Philippine justice system, as they seek to prevent the cops from posting bail and eventually secure a conviction.“It’s really a long nightmare, but I really want the nightmare to end soon with a guilty sentence,” Alberto said.The family’s lawyer, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, said part of the reason why the case has taken almost 4 years was because the cops went on absence without leave and the case could not proceed without their presence in court.A ruling on the bail petition is expected in a few months.“But I hope yung trial nito matapos within one year,” he said.(But I hope the trial will end within one year.)ABS-CBN News sought the side of the cops but one of them said: “Sir, the case is already in the court.”<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2881225" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div> -- WHAT’S AT STAKE --While in Manila, Diego’s parents met with officials from the Spanish consulate-general and the European Union delegation, which both promised to closely monitor the case. It was the Spanish government that acted as the complainant against the 3 cops before the NBI.The EU recently released its assessment of the Philippine government’s compliance with its Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) commitments, with emphasis on extra-judicial killings (EJKs). The GSP+ grants tax-free privileges to selected Philippine imports to the EU, with close to 3 billion Euros worth of goods benefitting from the arrangement in 2022. It noted that while there have been positive developments under the new administration, it expects “more resolute actions” to ensure accountability for EJKs.“[T]he Philippines should ensure the transparent and independent investigation and prosecution of extra-judicial killings including through cooperation with the International Criminal Court as well as providing remedies for victims and holding perpetrators accountable. The Philippines should adhere to the rules enshrined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to which it was a party until 16 March 2019,” the EU assessment said.Diego&#x27;s case was among the 52 cases listed under the DOJ&#x27;s drug war review, which the Philippine government cited before the UN Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prove that it is probing deaths under the drug war.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/20/21/doj-releases-matrix-on-52-cases-of-drug-war-deaths">Multiple gunshot wounds in slain drug suspects, absence of reports dominate DOJ drug war review</a></li></ul>The UNHRC eventually did not open an independent probe but decided to pass a resolution providing for technical assistance to the Philippine to promote human rights, which resulted in the signing of the UN Joint Programme in July 2021.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/07/20/un-rights-body-passes-resolution-to-help-ph-promote-human-rights">UN rights body passes resolution to help PH promote human rights</a></li></ul>The ICC however gave the go-signal for the ICC Prosecutor to proceed with the probe on drug war deaths noting, among others, that only a small number of the thousands of killings in Duterte’s drug war have been investigated.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/15/21/icc-chamber-greenlights-probe-on-ph-drug-war-davao-killings">ICC Pre-Trial Chamber greenlights probe on PH drug war, Davao killings</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/09/16/21/how-icc-pre-trial-chamber-decided-to-probe-ph-drug-war">How the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber decided to probe PH drug war, Davao killings</a></li></ul>In a new move, House lawmakers proposed a bill urging the Philippine government to cooperate with the ICC probe, which has now progressed to the House committee on justice.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/21/23/house-tackles-resolution-urging-cooperation-with-icc">House tackles resolution urging cooperation with ICC</a></li></ul>While Diego’s death took place after the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute had taken effect, his parents support moves for the ICC to come in, if only to find out what really happened to those killed under the drug war.“Many cases that are pending which have to be investigated and clarified should also be probed,” Pilar said.By official count, more than 6,000 drug suspects were killed in police operations from mid-2016 to mid-2022, although human rights groups claim the number could reach 30,000 including vigilante killings.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/18/23/icc-junks-ph-appeal-to-proceed-with-drug-war-probe">ICC junks Philippine gov&#x27;t appeal, to proceed with drug war probe</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/07/19/23/how-the-iccs-ph-drug-war-probe-was-almost-lost-on-the-issue-of-jurisdiction">How the ICC&#x27;s PH drug war probe was almost lost on the issue of jurisdiction</a></li></ul>

Diego Bello Lafuente is the sole Spanish and European killed in Duterte’s drug war.

EXCLUSIVE: Spanish parents face Siargao cops accused of killing son in ‘drug buy-bust’

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EXCLUSIVE: Spanish parents face Siargao cops accused of killing son in ‘drug buy-bust’

Mike Navallo,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 23, 2023 02:26 AM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

war on drugs

Diego Bello Lafuente

ICC

Pilar Lafuente

Alberto Bello

Wise Vicente Panuelos

Ronel Pazo

Nido Boy Cortes

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