BY JOEL CALAMBA ESCOL, Managing Editor
BAYAWAN CITY, Negros Oriental – The Philippine National Police organization has relived yesterday the entire police unit in this city, following the unaverted killing of Governor Roel Degamo and eight others on March 4.
Six alleged perpetrators tasked to assassinate the provincial governor barged into the governor’s house and opened fire upon entering the gate of the mansion. The governor died a few hours later at the hospital, including eight others whose names are not yet available at press time.
During a press briefing, Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesman for the Philippine National Police Special Investigation Task Group Degamo, told the media the order came from the national headquarters in Camp Crame.
“As an operational and tactical decision of the Command, probably to make sure that the remaining suspects will be arrested. We want to make sure that we have fresh legs on the ground, to conduct the pursuit operations,” Pelare told reporters.
He said the relieved policemen in Bayawan City are temporarily assigned at the provincial PNP headquarters in Negros Oriental pending their new assignments.
Meanwhile, DILG secretary Benhur Abalos also said the suspects who are willing to testify against the mastermind are now under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) of the government. The DILG secretary, however, did not name the suspects under the WPP.
But it was learned by MDN that at least two of the suspects have already stated their willingness to join the program and would name the mastermind of the deadly attack that killed 9 people, including the governor of Negros Oriental.
####