A detained suspect in the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel R. Degamo and nine other persons in Pamplona town has recanted the testimony he previously gave to the police about the murders, his counter-affidavit to the Department of Justice showed.
In his counter-affidavit submitted before the DOJ on Monday, Jhudiel R. Rivero, also known as Osmundo Rivero, claimed he was tortured by the police to admit his participation in the Pamplona killings and to implicate suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves.
Rivero was one of four suspects arrested after hot pursuit by the police after the March 4 incident.
However, the wife of the detained suspect “does not want to see him,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Monday, in response to the reported petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) by Rivero.
The three other arrested suspects had earlier been identified as Joric Garido Labrador, Joven Calibjo Javier, and Benjie Buladola R. Rodriguez.
“Family (wife) doesn’t want to talk to him, according to WPP (Witness Protection Program),” Remulla said of Rivero.
Earlier, Remulla had said that suspects in custody have expressed willingness to cooperate in the investigation in the March 4 killings.
Also, the Justice Secretary said the families of the suspects have asked that they be placed under the DOJ’s WPP for their protection.
Like them, Rivero was previously charged in court with illegal possession of firearms and explosives related to the assassination of Degamo.
With their arrests, the DOJ said the four suspects were initially charged before the Bayawan City RTC with three counts of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives.
In previous statements, the Justice Department said the four suspects pointed to the participation of Marvin H. Miranda, the arrested bodyguard of Teves, in the killings.
The National Bureau of Investigation on May 17 filed complaints before the DOJ against Teves for 10 counts of murder, 14 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder.
As of Friday, the DOJ has yet to evaluate the complaints for action.
In his counter-affidavit, Rivero said in Filipino: “It’s not true that I know a person named Marvin. It is also not true that I pointed at the photo of Teves because I never knew him and have never met him. It is not true that I knew of the planning in the killing Degamo and it is not true that I am familiar with the guns and clothes used because I never used nor seen those.”
Rivero recounted that in the morning of March 5, 2023, he was arrested by police and taken to the PNP’s Provincial Intelligence Unit.
“When I was taken to the Provincial Intelligence Unit, they told me I was pointed at by three other suspects who got arrested and investigated over the planning and entering the Degamo family compount in Pamplona, Negros Oriental. I was tortured. I was suffocated by covering my head with a plastic bag and they used a wire to strangle me. I passed out and, when I regained consciousness, I noticed swelling on my neck that I still complain about.
“While may statement was being taken at the PNP headquarters, I was being kicked and hurt, and told to admit that Teves was the one who ordered the murder of Degamo. They told me if I do not point at Teves my family will be in danger. Because of fear that I and my family could get killed, I did what I was told even if it was not true that I saw or talked to Teves. I also don’t know him.
“While they were taking may statement, the counsel given to me from the Public Attorney’s Office told me to follow the order of the police so that I won’t be hurt anymore,” Rivero claimed.
According to him, while they were taking his statement, he was told at the PNP headquarters that once he point to Teves, they won’t involve my family.
“They told me that they will free me and place me under the witness protection program. It made an imprint on my mind that if I don’t point at Teves then I and my family will be killed.”
Also in his affidavit, Rivero said he was informed that members of his family were taken into custody last March 8 and since then, he has not been informed of their whereabouts.
He said his lawyers informed him that what happened to him was in violation of his rights under Section 12, Article 3 of Constitution, Republic Act 9745, the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, and RA 7438, the Act Defining the Rights of the Person Arrested.
He also denied making sworn statements last March 9 and April 3. He said the signature on his supposed March 9 statement was not his.
Rivero also said the supposed April 3 statement did not contain his signature and the signature of his PAO lawyer.
Teves has not returned to the Philippines since last March 9, the expiration of his authority to travel abroad. He has denied all the allegations against him in the killings in Pamplona town.
Earlier, Remulla said that the suspects in the killings are now represented by private lawyers.
However, Remulla did not express any worry on possible recantations of the affidavits of witnesses which, among other things, became the basis in the filing of the complaints against Teves.
Besides Remulla, also named a respondent in Rivero’s petition was National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Medardo G. de Lemos.
In his trial court petition, Rivero sought the release from government custody of his wife Queenie Apale Lago Rivero, 40 years old; stepson Christian King Apale Lago, 15; and son Jophiel Kieth Lago Rivero, 2.
Rivero claimed that “according to reliable information of petitioner, his family was unlawfully detained and deprived of their liberty by the order and behest of the respondents.”