• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, widow of the slain Governor Roel Degamo, has ended the long-standing dominance of the Teves political clan in the Negros Oriental third district, after winning the congressional seat in the May 12 elections.
Degamo defeated Janice Teves Gaston, aunt of siblings, former governor Pryde Henry Teves and dismissed congressman Arnolfo Teves.
The Degamo widow, who garnered 128,007 votes, was proclaimed as the winner on Tuesday.
The Teves siblings were linked to the killing of Degamo and nine others in 2023.
Pryde Henry Teves was also defeated by incumbent Governor Chaco Sagarbarria for the province’s highest post.
Sagarbarria won with 365,020 votes against closest rival Teves, who garnered 254,415 votes.
In August 2023, the Anti-Terrorism Council tagged the two Teves brothers and 11 others as terrorists for their alleged involvement in the Pamplona massacre.
While Negros Oriental was classified as an area of concern, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army assessed the peace and order during the May 12 polls in Negros Island Region (NIR) as generally peaceful, except for the shooting incident in Silay City, Negros Occidental that claimed the lives of two persons and injured seven others.
PBrig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, director of Police Regional Office-NIR, said the overall conduct of the election across the region remained calm and orderly. | GB
