ANOTHER suspect in the high-profile death of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and several others has recanted his statement linking suspended lawmaker Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. to the celebrated murder.

Lawyer Danny Villanueva, counsel of Joven Javier, divulged that the latter has withdrawn four statements given to probers at early stages of the investigation.

This brought to five the number of suspects who had retracted so far.

The first to withdraw his statement was Osmundo Rivero, who claimed in his counter-affidavit that he had been subjected to alleged torture to falsely implicate Teves.

Following Rivero’s recantation, three additional suspects followed suit by submitting affidavits of recantation. The three were Rogelio Antipolo, Rommel Pattaguan, and Dahniel Lora.

DOJ MULLS PROBE INTO TORTURE CLAIM

The Department of Justice is seriously considering launching an investigation into the torture claims made by one of the detained suspects in the murder case of l Degamo.

The suspect alleged that he was tortured in order to implicate Teves Jr. in the high-profile crime.

Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson attorney Mico Clavano stated during a video conference with reporters via Zoom that the DOJ’s current plan is to investigate and verify the allegations made by Rivero.

If the investigation finds no evidence to support the claims, appropriate actions will be taken. However, if it is discovered that there was indeed mistreatment and torture, all individuals involved will be held accountable, Clavano said.

In a five-page counter-affidavit submitted to the DOJ on Monday, Rivero accused the Philippine National Police (PNP) of physically assaulting and torturing him in order to coerce him into implicating Teves as the mastermind behind the crime.

Rivero also claimed that his public attorney advised him to comply with the police’s demands to avoid further harm.

However, Clavano expressed doubts about the credibility of Rivero’s revelations, stating that investigators find it unlikely given the high-profile nature of the case and the close scrutiny it has received from the public.

“At the very beginning, there was no such incident. Based on all the reports and ground information, nothing of that sort occurred,” Clavano asserted.