Degamo tending to 4Ps beneficiaries when slain

GUNMEN posing as military men early yesterday morning shot dead Negros Oriental Gov. Roel R. Degamo as he was entertaining his poor constituents in his residence in Pamplona municipality.

Degamo is a known ally of the young Marcos administration.

Five others were also killed in the attack.

Siaton town Mayor Fritz Dias confirmed Degamo’s death hours after the governor was attacked in his residence in Bgy. San Isidro, Sto. Nuwebe municipality, where he was distributing assistance to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The governor was shot multiple times by the suspects who were wearing pixelized uniforms usually being worn by Army and Navy soldiers. The gunmen were also seen wearing bullet-proof vests.

In a Facebook post, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo said her husband was pronounced dead at 11:41 a.m. yesterday.

“The governor does not deserve that kind of death,” the mayor said.

“There were five others who died with him. They were there to ask for help,” she said.

“Give the governor the justice he deserves,” Mayor Degamo added.

According to the Pamplona mayor, her husband was serving his constituents, along with his department heads, when gunned down by still unidentified assailants.

The killers fled in a black Mitsubishi Montero with plate no. YAP-163, a silver green Mitsubishi Pajero without license plates, and a green Isuzu pick-up with plate no. GRY-162.

The get-away vehicles were found abandoned in Bgy. Kansumalig in Bayawan City, where at least 10 suspects were seen fleeing the scene, according to Police Regional Office 7 spokesperson Lt. Col. Maria Aurora Rayos.

“The Police Regional Office 7 was directed to immediately conduct a hot pursuit operation to arrest the perpetrators and the mastermind of this treacherous attack. All available resources of the PNP will be used to arrest those who are involved in this incident. The PNP will not stop until these suspects are arrested,” said the official.

“Further, we encourage those who witnessed the incident to give their testimonies and cooperate with the authorities for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators. We also appeal to the public to report any information that may lead to the identification and arrest of the suspects,” said PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr..

The killing of Degamo came amid a Journal Group report that Negros Oriental folks have been gripped with fear anew by a series of killings in the province reminiscent of the deadly gun attacks in the province in 2019.

On October 3 last year, the Commission on Elections nullified the election victory of Henry Teves in the gubernatorial race in Negros Oriental and declared Degamo, his fiercest rival, as the true winner of the May 2022 election, paving the way for Degamo’s return to the provincial hall.

Teves is the brother of Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves, whose gun permits were revoked by the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office after he was found to have presented “spurious documents,” prompting him to surrender his 12 licensed firearms. By Alfred Dalizon and Jane Eleda