One of the suspects in the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo has been killed in a shootout, police said Sunday.
Police Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare said the unnamed suspect was killed after he fired at police in Barangay Cansumalig, Bayawan City after 9 p.m. on Saturday.
Pelare said police found four assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade with ammunition, four fully loaded bandoleers, and a rifle case buried in a bushy area in the same barangay.
Meanwhile, two of the three suspects arrested were former soldiers who were dishonorably discharged several years ago, the Philippine Army said in a statement.
The fourth suspect was killed in a shootout in a plantation on Saturday night, Pelare told journalists, adding they are getting closer to finding the mastermind.
“We’ve established roadblocks and all ports are sealed,” Pelare said.
Joric Labrador, 50, of Cagayan de Oro City; Joven Aber, 42, of La Castellana, Negros Oriental; and Benjie Rodriguez, 45, of Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, were arrested by a combined police and military force.
Pelare, spokesperson of the Central Visayas Police Regional Office (PRO-7), said in a radio interview that some of the suspect ex-soldiers went AWOL (absent without official leave), while others were involved in an illegal drugs case, leading to their dismissal from service.
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. vowed justice for Degamo, who was shot dead in his home in Barangay San Isidro, Pamplona town on March 4. The governor was killed along with five others.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Sunday thanked Abalos for the speedy arrest of the suspects in the Degamo killing.
“We condole with the family of the governor, the mayor, and their friends,” he said.
On Sunday, the death toll reached nine, with 13 others seriously injured, and four others injured.
Abalos and top officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other agencies attended a command conference at the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) in Sibulan town.
Abalos said they see no pattern in the recent attacks on local officials, especially governors.
He called for maximum police visibility and the confiscation of loose and illegal firearms.
PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin said pursuit operations were still ongoing to find six more people involved in Degamo’s assassination.
Four suspects have already been arrested, some of them ex-military.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who also is the president of the League of Cities in the Philippines, condemned Degamo’s assassination.
“This egregious display of violence no less at the governor’s own residence while distributing assistance to his constituents is a blatant disregard of law and order,” Rama said in a statement.
Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia also said she was shocked and deeply saddened by the assassination.
“He was a good friend, dedicated public servant, and fellow governor.
I earnestly hope that the perpetrators of this atrocious crime will be exposed, apprehended, and brought to justice,” she said.
The Palace on Sunday said there was no schedule as of yet for a presidential visit to Degamo’s wake.
In a social media post, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the murder of one of his campaign allies during the last presidential elections.
“We have received much information and now have a clear direction on how to proceed to bring to justice those behind this killing,” he said.
“I am warning all those involved in this killing: you can run but you cannot hide. We will find you. If you surrender now, it will be your best option,” he added.
Degamo, 56, is the latest to be targeted in a long history of attacks on politicians and is at least the third to be shot since local elections last year.
Negros Oriental Vice Governor Carlo Jorge Joan Reyes was sworn into office on Saturday as the province’s new governor following Degamo’s murder.
Reyes took his oath of office before Abalos.
The Pamplona Municipal Police Station released the names of those who were killed and injured during Saturday’s attack. Among the dead were a barangay councilor and a barangay captain.
Senator Imee Marcos on Sunday suggested that Negros Oriental be placed under a state of emergency for justice to be swiftly served following Degamo’s assassination.
Marcos, who had worked with Degamo in the Governors’ League when she was still the governor of Ilocos Norte, also said Negros Oriental should be locked down so those who were behind the killing could not leave the province.
Meanwhile, other senators also condemned the killings and called on authorities to swiftly solve the case.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed alarm over the surge of assassination attempts on local chief executives in the past weeks.
Zubiri was referring to the attack against Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, the recent ambush on Datu Montawal, Maguindanao del Sur Mayor Ohto Montawal, and the killing of Vice Mayor Rommel Almeda in Cagayan.
“For this ambush to happen while Governor Degamo was in the middle of attending to 4Ps beneficiaries is absolutely appalling. It is sick and heartless, and the suspects should rot in jail. Heads must roll, and the PNP must crack down on this case immediately,” Zubiri said.
“Every single incident like this ambush puts a dent in our people’s trust in the government. It is a failure of intelligence, a failure of police visibility, a failure of our peace and security efforts,” he added.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said the PNP must put an end to the killings and not wait for a similar incident to happen again.
“These killings must end now. These acts of violence and lawlessness are a clear display of arrogance against our government. We should never be accustomed to these senseless killings. We call on the PNP to act swiftly and put these criminals behind bars,” Villanueva said.
He also questioned the kind of protection that the PNP provides to public officials.
Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. said such incidents are not merely acts against the persons who were targeted, but also an attack against the people who elected them and against democracy itself.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said any form of violence and intimidation has no place in a civilized and democratic society like the Philippines.
Citing the shooting incidents as “gangland-style” executed in broad daylight, Senator Grace Poe said they brought home to Filipinos how easily their lives can be taken, even if they are in power.
The Diocese of Dumaguete lamented that the culture of violence continues to torment society.
“I strongly condemn this heartbreaking and senseless act of murder in Negros Oriental! When will this cycle of killings ever stop? We pray, then, that the perpetrators behind this bloodshed be brought to justice soon,” Bishop Julito Cortes said in a statement.
He said the death of Degamo under violent circumstances has shaken the province anew.
At least six gunmen armed with rifles and wearing military-style uniforms opened fire in the governor’s home in Pamplona municipality in the central province of Negros Oriental.
Pelare said about 10 suspects were involved in the attack. Authorities believed they were still on the island after ports were closed to prevent their escape, he said.
Negros Oriental is one of two provinces on Negros Island, which is the center of the nation’s sugar industry and home to some of the country’s wealthiest landowners as well as some of its poorest farm workers.