Degamo slay suspects transferred to BJMP facility

MANILA, Philippines — Eleven suspects in the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine others were transferred to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Thursday evening.

The suspects, including alleged co-mastermind Marvin Miranda, were transferred because of the planned demolition of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters along Taft Avenue in Manila.

The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 51 issued a commitment order before the transfer of the suspects.

Meanwhile, Miranda denied in an interview with ABS-CBN News that he was able to go in and out of the NBI detention facility, as claimed by the Degamo family.

Levito Baligod, the legal counsel who represents Degamo’s widow, Pamplona City Mayor Janice Degamo, claimed that Miranda and NBI detainee Jose Adrian Dera enjoyed special privileges while under detention.

Miranda also denied claims that he convinced the 10 suspects to recant their testimonies pointing to Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. as the mastermind behind the Degamo slay incident.

With plans to demolish the NBI compound in Manila to make way for a new building in 2026, 83 detainees were transferred to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa on July 10.

Bureau of Corrections chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. allowed the NBI to utilize Building 14 within the maximum security compound for its inmates through a memorandum of agreement signed by the BuCor and NBI.

Dera, co-accused in one of former senator Leila de Lima’s drug cases, was transferred to the Muntinlupa City jail on July 5, following a court order from the city’s Regional Trial Court Branch 204.

The NBI detainee was arrested along with five NBI jail personnel on June 20 after going out for dinner in a buffet restaurant in Makati.