• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Janice Degamo, widow of slain governor Roel Degamo, said it is “painful and difficult to accept” the acquittal of former lawmaker Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves in a murder case related to a 2019 killing in Dumaguete City.
“But it does not erase the fact that there are still multiple court trials ongoing for other 2019 murder cases and for the Pamplona massacre that took the life of Roel,” Degamo said in a statement over the weekend. “Those proceedings continue, and so does our pursuit of accountability”.
Teves is being accused as the mastermind behind the Pamplona massacre in 2023, which claimed the life of then governor Degamo and several others.
The former solon, who is now locked up in jail, debunked the accusations against him.
Last week, it was reported that Teves was acquitted of the murder of former Negros Oriental provincial board member Miguel Lopez Dungog on March 25, 2019.
Degamo said “these cases are older, and each carries different circumstances and levels of evidence.”
“Justice is not always swift, and it is never easy, but I believe it will prevail. For my husband. For every victim. For every family left behind. We will continue to hope, to endure, and to fight for truth and justice,” she added.
The lawmaker said she remains committed to support other victims as they continue to seek justice through the proper legal processes.
“Our pain is shared, our resolve is collective, and our voices will not be silenced by setbacks along the way,” she shared.
Teves was arrested in Timor-Leste, where he sought asylum for almost two years, and was brought back to the Philippines on May 29 last year.
At present, he is under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation and being detained at its facility in Building 14 of the maximum security compound of the New Bilibid Prison. | GB
