Degamo slay ‘main player’ nabbed; case ‘99% solved’

MANILA, Philippines — The murder case of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo is “99 percent solved,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday as he announced the arrest of a “main player” in the deadly attack.

“The Degamo case is 99 percent solved… I can tell you 100 percent but we’re just saying 99 percent,” Remulla said, noting the arrest of a primary suspect on Friday kilometers away from Negros Oriental during what authorities believe was an act to flee. Remulla refused to identify the arrested person until Monday.

“The NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) was able to catch a main player. We have not discussed it yet but practically I would say in my own reading of the situation, one of the masterminds was caught today,” Remulla told reporters.

“He was fleeing from people who would be moving for him because of the revelations of other witnesses. He figures in the statements made by the other suspects in custody already. It drives a thread through everything. The thread has been properly moving in,” he added.

Remulla said NBI has been tracking the suspect “since day one” of the investigation, saying he was the person the justice department wanted. Aside from this suspect, Remulla said the NBI was also tracking at least three more masterminds.

Remulla asserted that he has reason to believe that the case was now “99 percent solved” since the statements of the suspects in custody and the recently arrested suspect’s impending statement would certainly weave the whole narrative of the killing.

Asked where Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. fits in the narrative based on the evidence and statements at hand, the justice secretary said “he fits in right there, in the middle of everything.”

Pryde surrenders firearms 

A day after the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced that his firearms licenses were revoked, former Negros Oriental governor Pryde Henry Teves surrendered his guns.

Teves on Thursday night said he coordinated with the Bayawan City police about the firearms registered under his name. “I immediately called them and some policemen in Bayawan City came to assist me in surrendering the firearms,” he said over “The Chiefs” on One News.

Teves claimed he was only informed by his secretary on Wednesday that his licenses were revoked. He started the process of surrendering his firearms the same day and hopes to complete it by Friday. He did not say exactly how many firearms he has so far surrendered.

Teves said he has short firearms which he uses every weekend for target shooting. He also has a collection of rifles.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said on Thursday that Teves has 28 firearms based on a report from the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO).

The FEO revoked Teves’ gun licenses after he allegedly submitted spurious documents for his application.

In the same interview, Teves denied he was involved in the bloodbath in Pamplona town that killed Degamo and eight other people on March 4. While they are rivals, Teves maintained that he and Degamo have been friends.

“We were together in the provincial board. When I ran for congressman, my slot in the board, he took it,” he said.

The two ran against each other in the 2022 national and local elections but Teves said he and Degamo remained cordial.

When Degamo asked him if he would vacate his post if the former’s petition before the Supreme Court was granted, Teves said he told the slain governor he would immediately step down.

He also renewed his call to his brother, congressman Teves, to return home and face the allegations that he orchestrated Degamo’s killing. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Emmanuel Tupas