Several supporters and relatives of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo visit his wake in his house in Barangay Junob, Dumaguete City on Sunday, March 5. Degamo’s ‘adopted son’, Carlo, said that they have yet to finalize the details of the governor’s burial. CDN Digital photo | Pegeen Maisie Sararaña
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has joined in the calls to bring justice to the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the assassination and subsequent untimely death of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Ragay Degamo,” Rama wrote in a statement issued on Sunday, March 5, 2023.
“On behalf of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), we demand justice through the immediate resolution of the case,” he added.
The mayor described the ruthless killing of Degamo, which occurred right outside the governor’s residence in Pamplona town last Saturday, March 4, as an ‘egregious display of violence.’
“As National President of the LCP and National EVP of ULAP, I call on the NBI and the PNP not to leave any stone unturned in bringing to justice the death of the governor,” said Rama.
Man of principle
A group of at least 10 gunmen killed Degamo and eight of his security team after distributing financial assistance to residents in Pamplona late Saturday morning.
Police have already arrested five suspects, of which three happen to be former members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Rama also extended his condolences to Degamo’s family, and remembered the late governor as a ‘man of principle.’
“Gov. Roel Degamo has been a good friend over the years… On my watch as chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC), I was blessed to have a supportive governor member in Roel Degamo. He stood out as a man of principle,” he said.
/bmjo
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