Police Colonel who shot dead a 33-yr.-old man in Baguio in 2016 war against drugs sentenced to 14 years

Baguio City, Philippines—Nearly nine years after the death of 33-year-old Ryan Dave Almora in his home in Barangay Crystal Cave, Baguio City, the court has finally delivered its verdict, dismissing the long-standing police claim that he fought back during an anti-drug operation. 

To recall, Almora was killed on July 26, 2016, at the height of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. Reports said Almora sustained three gunshot wounds, two in the chest and one in the abdomen, resulting in his death. 

Police authorities who conducted the operation, led by then-Police Colonel Dante Lubos, claimed that Almora resisted the arrest; that’s why he was shot by Lubos.

However, according to the Mountain Beacon, the Baguio City Regional Trial Court dismissed the police “nanlaban” narrative in August 2025, citing a forensic examination that showed the bullets came from a higher angle and a paraffin test that revealed no gunpowder residue on Almora’s hands. 

The findings mean that the shooter was at a higher position and that Almora never fired a gun, thus he was unlikely to have resisted arrest. 

With these, the police “nanlaban” claimed crumbled in said court branch. As a result, Lubos, now assigned to the Central Luzon Police Regional Office, was convicted by the court, sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment, and ordered to pay over P1,000,000 in damages to the victim’s family. 

Lubos is among the few police officers to be held accountable in court for drug war killings.

One similar case involved the killing of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos in Caloocan City on August 16, 2017.In 2018, three police officers were also convicted for his murder and were sentenced to reclusion perpetua “without eligibility of parole”