Juatice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla (File photo)
MANILA -- Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday assured that the government will provide protection to the family of potential witnesses in the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel R. Degamo last March 4.
Remulla issued the statement after meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., along with other concerned agencies, earlier in the day to coordinate the handling of the case.
"Ang programa kasi ng WPP (witness protection program) pag hindi sa tao mismo, sapagkat sila ay nasa loob na ng piitan, maaaring ang pamilya nila ang tulungan o bigyang proteksyon. Mahalagang bagay para sa mga nasasakdal na mabigyang protekyon ang pamilya, kaya marahil nagkaroon sila ng linaw ng isip kung sila man ay nagsasalita na. Ngunit hindi ko pa nakikita yung mga katagang binitawan at sa mga tanong na tinanong sa kanila (The witness protection program is not only for the persons who will testify because they are already under custody but also for the assistance and protection of their family. It is important for the suspects for their families to be protected, which might have cleared their minds, if ever they have cooperated. However, I have yet to see their statements and the questions asked to them)," Remulla said in an interview.
"Kaya kaninang umaga pa lang, kinausap ko na ang ating program director at ilang miyembro nila na bigyan na ng briefing ang mga testigo. Aalagaan natin ang kanilang pamilya basta’t makiisa lang sila at magsabi ng katotohanan at pawang katotohanan (This morning, I spoke to the WPP program director and some members to brief the witnesses. We will protect their families so long as they cooperate, and tell the truth and nothing but the truth).”
He made the assurance after the four suspects, former soldiers Joric Labrador, Joven Javier, Benjoe Rodriguez, and Osmundo Rivero, who are now under government custody, have expressed their intention to cooperate in the investigation.
Javier and Rivero, who were the first of the four to agree to cooperate, are under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
In a separate radio interview with DZRH on Thursday, Remulla said initial investigations suggested that the 56-year-old Degamo survived the initial volley from the gunmen inside his residential compound.
Injured and on the ground, Degamo sought help by radio at a frequency being monitored by the group, which then went back to again shoot the popular official. He died in a hospital. (PNA)
