Police face grilling over Degamo killing with Teves still abroad
The House of Representatives begins hearings today (March 14) into the failure of the police to protect Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, who was gunned down and killed along with eight others in his own home on March 4 in a brazen day-time attack.
Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, chairman of the House committee on public order and safety, said his panel has invited Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Philippine National Police chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr., and the PNP official responsible for the governor’s police escorts, five of whom did not report to duty on the day of the attack.
Fernandez also said representatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the missing police escorts themselves are being invited to Tuesday’s panel proceedings.
“Basically, what we’re after here in the hearing is about the lapses of the security personnel,” Fernandez said.
He said they have not invited Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who has been linked to the attack and who is still abroad.
Speaker Martin Romualdez over the weekend noted reports that five out of the six police escorts assigned to Degamo did not show up for duty on March 4, when a group of gunmen attacked his house and killed him, along with eight others.
“Governor Degamo had earlier reported to the police about the threats to his life so it stands to reason that his security detail should have implemented stricter measures to ensure his safety,” Romualdez said as he called on Fernandez’s committee to investigate the matter.
“That’s why it’s highly suspicious [that] these police escorts were missing on the day he was killed.”
“It appears that the perpetrators were aware of the fact that Governor Degamo had practically no protection so they could easily accomplish their mission to assassinate him,” he added.
Fernandez said beyond the missing escorts, there might be a bigger problem within the PNP.
Romualdez on Monday said he has not heard yet from Teves, whose travel authority expired on March 9.
“I expect congressman Arnie to heed my appeal and report for work as soon as possible. His stay outside the country is no longer authorized by the House of Representatives,” Romualdez said.
Teves, who went to the US based on his travel clearance filed in the House of Representatives, has been named a respondent in complaints filed by the police in connection with several killings that took place in 2019.
Police raided some of Teves’ homes in Negros Oriental in search of illegal firearms last week.
One of the gunmen arrested by the police said “Cong Teves” had hired them to kill Degamo—an accusation the congressman has denied.
Romualdez assured Teves that he would be safe if he returns to face the charges.
“Police officials have spoken. They are willing to provide security to protect him from bodily harm. All congressman Arnie needs to do is make the appropriate request,” Romualdez said. “Our law enforcers cannot extend this protection outside the Philippines,” he added.
The Teves camp on Monday maintained his innocence, adding that the lawmaker wanted to return to the Philippines to face the charges against him, but feared for his life.
Teves’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, along with the other counsel, Roberto Diokno Jr. and Edward Santiago, at a no-holds barred Pandesal Forum at the Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City, decried as “illegal and irregular” the series of raids on his homes and resort, claiming authorities planted guns and explosives as evidence.
He appealed for fairness and said Teves must get due process. Topacio said two months ago, Teves publicly complained about intelligence reports warning him that his properties would be raided for no apparent reason, adding it would be impossible for him to still keep such weapons in his properties.
The lawyer said he personally took the guns from the Quezon City home of Teves and turned them over to police headquarters.
Diokno, who said he was a childhood friend and schoolmate of Teves, urged investigators and other law enforcers to pursue all possible angles behind the Degamo killing, and to look for other suspects, and not just focus “unfairly” on Teves.
Remulla on Monday assured the Teves camp that the lawmaker would be protected once he returns to the Philippines.
“He will be secured. He will not be abandoned,” Remulla said.
Remulla made the statement after Teves’ legal counsel said the lawmaker has yet to return to the Philippines due to concerns about his security.
Also on Monday, the acting spokesperson of Joint Task Force Negros, Maj. Cenon Pancito III, said it was possible the leader of the private armed group that killed Degamo was a former member of the Philippine Army.
“Based on the description, based on the training, there is reason for us to believe that he is a former member of the Philippine Army,” Pancito said on Monday.
Of the ten armed men that attacked Degamo’s residence, five were arrested and one was killed in a shootout with police while four remained at large.
Four of the five suspects in custody were recognized as former military members who were discharged due to various offenses and charges.
Pancito said the armed group belonged to a much bigger circle and added that their investigation led to a certain “big and powerful someone.”
Since Friday, the military has deployed more troops in the province.
Azurin, for his part, assured the public there would be no cover-up in their investigation.
“Definitely, cover up is not part of the ongoing investigation. We lost Governor Degamo. We are not covering up anything. Whoever gets hurt gets hurt,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English on Monday.
Azurin said they are already asking for an explanation from five of the six members of Degamo’s police security who were missing on the day of the attack.
Azurin shared that more local elected officials in Negros Island have been on the receiving end of death threats.
Azurin did not disclose the whereabouts of the questioned police personnel but said that all five cops are accounted for and set to face the hearing on the incident in the House of Representatives.
Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, said the regional and provincial police offices have also been compromised.
Ejercito cited the refusal of the police officers coming from these offices to issue warrant of arrest against the suspects in the ambush slay of Degamo.
The warrants, he said, even came from the Central or PNP headquarters in Manila.