Gov. Degamo shot in his house, 3 of 10 suspects arrested, P5m offered for info
Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and five other people were shot dead by at least ten gunmen—three of whom were arrested and identified as former military servicemen—inside the governor’s home in Pamplona at around 9:30 in the morning on Saturday.
“Governor Degamo did not deserve that kind of death. He was serving his constituents on a Saturday,” said Degamo’s widow, Janice, who is also the mayor of Pamplona, in a video posted on Facebook.
The governor died while being treated at the Polymedic Hospital about two hours later.
The Philippine National Police said the suspects—wearing camouflage uniforms and bulletproof vests and carrying long firearms—escaped on board three getaway vehicles: a Mitsubishi Pajero (NQZ 735), an Isuzu pickup truck (GRY 162) and a Mitsubishi Montero (YAP 163).
Three suspects—identified as Joric Labrador, Joven Aber, and Benjie Rodriguez—were arrested by the Negros Oriental Police in Sitio Punong, Barangay Cansumalig, Bayawan around 4:20 p.m.
Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla offered a P5 million reward for anyone who can give information on the mastermind of the killing while Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos described the attack as “premeditated.”
“It was really planned. He (Degamo) had said something to me earlier. All angles here are being investigated by the authorities,” Abalos said.
Degamo, 56, is the latest target in the Philippines’ long history of attacks on politicians. He is at least the fourth to be shot this year after Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong was shot and wounded in February in an attack that killed his driver and three police escorts.
That same month, the vice-mayor of the northern town of Aparri, Rommel Alameda, and five other people who were travelling with him were shot dead in a highway ambush while Mayor Ohto Caumbo Montawal of Datu Montawal, Maguindanao Del Sur was shot and wounded by two gunmen in Pasay City.
The Supreme Court last month declared him the rightful winner of the contest for the Negros Oriental governorship following a recount that unseated his local rival, Pryde Henry Teves, who had previously been proclaimed the victor.