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NBI-7 holds ‘parallel probe’ on Negros Oriental guv’s murder

By John Rey Saavedra

March 7, 2023, 5:07 pm

<p>National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas Regional Director Renan Oliva. <em>(PNA file photo)</em></p>

National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas Regional Director Renan Oliva. (PNA file photo)

CEBU CITY – The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) on Tuesday said it has started its own “parallel investigation” into the March 4 shooting incident that killed Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.

NBI-7 regional director Renan Oliva said they immediately sent IT personnel to Negros Oriental province to help retrieve footage from closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, after receiving a directive from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The investigation bureau, he said, will also get CCTV footage on the possible entry and exit points of the suspects, apart from the one captured in Degamo’s compound.

“The NBI will look into all angles of the shooting incident,” Oliva said.

Meanwhile, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on Tuesday said in a press conference that the “mastermind” in the brutal killing of Degamo should be brought to justice.

“There’s something wrong in the mind of the real perpetrator,” Garcia said, citing the number of deaths in the attack at Degamo’s residential compound in Pamplona town that include high officials of the provincial government as well as civilians.

Garcia said Degamo was actively involved in the peace and development programs in Central Visayas, citing his professional work relationship with her and the governors of Siquijor and Bohol provinces.

The governor commended Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla for their swift action in forming a special task force to investigate the case.

She also cited the “synergy” shown by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines that led to the immediate arrest of the four suspected gunmen and the death of another suspect who shot it out with the authorities.

In February this year, Degamo proposed the creation of Negros Island Region that, if implemented, would compose three provinces in the Negros mainland and Siquijor.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Visayas said it momentarily stopped the registration for the new beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Negros Oriental, following the murder of Degamo.

DSWD-7 regional director Maria Shalaine Lucero said while no beneficiaries were harmed in the incident, they temporarily suspended the registration for the safety of the beneficiaries and vowed to resume as soon as the police give clearance to proceed.

The DSWD-7 will also extend assistance to the families of deceased and injured civilians. Seventeen people were injured in the incident. (PNA)

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