THREE Philippine police officers wanted for the alleged murder of a Spanish businessman in 2020 have turned themselves in to the authorities, the justice ministry said Wednesday.

Diego Bello Lafuente was shot dead during a police drug operation in General Luna municipality on the southern island of Siargao, a popular surfing and holiday destination.

Why it matters

His case has been followed closely by Spain, a member of the European Union and the United Nations Human Rights Council which have been staunch critics of the drugs war under former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Rights group said many thousands of people were killed during the anti-narcotics campaign, including Lafuente.

The International Criminal Court is also investigating the brutal crackdown for possible crimes against humanity.

What happened in Siargao?

On January 8, 2020, policemen conducted a buy-bust operation against the Spanish national tagged as a “no.1 drug personality” in the Caraga region.

According to local radio report, during buybust, Lafuente noticed that one of poseur buyer is a police officer.

The Spanish surfer “suddenly pulled out his 45 caliber weapon and fired at the operatives twice,” RPN DXKS Surigao reported.

“The operatives were forced to defend themselves by firing at the suspect which resulted in his death,” the local radio report added.

Cocaine weighing 8.3326 grams and a Para-Ordnance pistol cal 45 were allegedly “recovered” from his possession.

NBI investigation: A case of EJK

The Spanish Consulate General in Manila and Lafuente’s parents had asked the Department of Justice for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the incident.

The NBI took a closer look at the case and found “probable cause for murder and planting of evidence.”

Based on the Scene of the Crime Operations report and forensic results, it appears there was no shootout, the NBI and panel of prosecutors found out.

The NBI and the prosecutors identified the alleged police officers in the killing as Capt. Wise Vicente Panuelos, Staff Sgt. Ronel Pazo, and Staff Sgt. Nido Boy Cortes.

Investigators noticed that the fired cartridge cases from the 9mm service firearms used by Capt. Panuelos and Staff Sgt. Cortes and the alleged firearm of the Spanish surfer, “were in close distance with each other.”

“If indeed there was a shootout, the placement of the FCCs should be in opposite sides,” the DOJ primer distributed to the press said.

It appeared that Lafuente was trying to escape and jumped over the perimeter wall and was shot by PSSgt. Cortes. A 9mm fired cartridge case found underneath the ground located near the area where Diego Lafuente was lying.

On March 3, 2022, the the Office of the Prosecutor General filed murder and planting of evidence charges against the three officers.

The Commission on Human Rights welcomed the filing of charges, saying this case is proof that certain anti-narcotics agents have been using the “nanlaban” narrative to justify the killing of drug suspects.

Arrest warrants had been issued for the three officers, but they were “nowhere to be found”, the justice ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Surrender of PNP officers

The officers handed themselves in to authorities on February 9.

The officers claimed they shot Lafuente in self-defense after he fired a gun at them during a buy-bust operation.

They were initially given a 60-day suspension from duty over the killing, according to the justice department’s review panel.

ICC, UN Human Rights Council pressure on PH

The drug war has been widely condemned, but so far only three policemen have been convicted for killing a drug suspect.

Under pressure from the UN Human Rights Council and the ICC, the government has examined more than 300 cases of drug operations that led to deaths.

Lafuente’s killing was among the first batch of 52 cases reviewed by the DOJ.

Former justice secretary Menardo Guevarra previously told AFP the review of those cases had cast doubt on police officers’ common claim of self-defense or “nanlaban.”

The review effort is still underway and 25 officers have been charged, the current Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said in November. with reports from AFP