• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Three men implicated in the 2023 Pamplona Massacre in Negros Oriental have been convicted of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
In a statement, Third District Rep. Janice Degamo, wife of slain governor Roel Degamo, said two of the convicted men face reclusion perpetua, describing the ruling as an important step toward justice for her husband and the other victims of the massacre.
“Every conviction is a step forward. Every person held accountable brings us closer to the truth and to the justice that Roel and every victim of the Pamplona Massacre deserve,” she said.
Degamo was killed along with several others in an armed attack at their family compound in Pamplona in March 2023.
The lawmaker acknowledged that no court decision could bring her husband back or erase the suffering endured by the victims’ families, but said the convictions reaffirmed that justice continues despite the passage of time.
She expressed gratitude to the courts, prosecutors and law enforcement authorities who pursued the case while vowing to continue seeking full accountability for the deaths.
“Today is a step toward that justice,” she said. | GPB
