BY JOEL CALAMBA ESCOL, Managing Editor
NEGROS ORIENTAL – The Department of Justice yesterday filed murder and frustrated murder charges at the Tanjay City Regional Trial Court against the alleged killers of Governor Roel Degamo.
Charged before the court included the four suspects who were arrested several hours after killing the governor inside his residence during the distribution of subsidy to his constituents. They were identified as Joven Calibjo Javier, Joric Garido Labrador, Osmundo Rojas Rivero, and Benjie Rodriguez. Twelve other John Does were also being charged, report said.
“Well, there are already… three counts of murder against the four respondents and then another three counts of illegal possession of firearms have also been filed. So those cases are already in court,” says Mico Clavano, spokesperson of the Department of Justice.
The DOJ spokesman also said charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives were filed against three persons. But it did not name those who were being charged at press time.
Clavano said the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have already decided to seek for the transfer of cases in Manila to protect the witnesses.
“It wasn’t the request of the Degamos. It was purely from the departments, because we want the integrity of this case to be preserved so we want to put it in a place where we can assure that yung… prosecution of the case is fair and just,” Clavano told reporters.
Clavano said they need to protect the suspects and witnesses because they have revealed vital information that will form part as very strong evidence during the trials.
MASTERMIND? Congressman Arnie Teves, in a video he posted on Facebook, admitted that some people he knew tagged him as the alleged mastermind in the murder of Governor Roel Degamo and eight other people. He denies any involvement though.
TEVES TAGGED MASTERMIND
Meanwhile, Congressman Arnie Teves in a video he posted on Facebook admitted of being tagged by other people as the alleged mastermind into the killing of Governor Roel Degamo on Saturday morning.
The provincial governor and 8 other civilians were among those who were killed during the attack on March 4, while distributing the 4Ps subsidy inside his residence in Pamplona town, this province.
“Ito ang matagal ko nang kinakatakot na mangyari. Bakit? Expected ko na, na ako na naman ang pagbibintangan,” Teves said in a video posted on Facebook, apparently referring to the killing of Degamo.
Teves also questioned the fast arrest of the alleged suspects several hours after the Governor was gunned down while in the distribution of 4Ps assistance to qualified poor and deserving residents.
“Bakit nakapasok o pinapasok ng ganun lamang ang mga tao na sa aking pag aanalisa ay parang magkakilala sila ng nasa gate. At hindi lang yun, siguro nakapasok na wala man lang resistance,” Teves said.
It can be recalled that the Teves and Degamo family are political rivals during the 2022 national and local elections.
The congressman’s brother, Henry Teves, was Degamo’s top opponent in the 2022 gubernatorial elections in Negros Oriental. After the counting in May 2022, Henry was proclaimed winner by the Comelec but Degamo contested the result, and instead appealed to the Comelec en banc to declare as nuisance candidate a certain Greco “Ruel Degamo” in which the Comelec did in a resolution declaring as null and void the votes that went Ruel Degamo, and instead added the votes to Roel Degamo – that catapulted Roel Degamo as the rightful owner in the last elections Negros Oriental.
