THE legal counsel of the kin of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo said several policemen, including high ranking officers, served as “spotters” in several murder cases in the province.
In a press conference on Monday, April 3, 2023, lawyer Levito Baligod said communities in the province are currently relying on the Armed Forces Philippines (AFP) in terms of their safety and security instead of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“Dahil sa ngayon ‘yung kapulisan natin doon is hindi stable when it comes to service and protection of the community, that's why we heavily rely on the AFP in the area for our security and the security of the community there,” he said.
Baligod said based on the accounts of several witnesses, policemen were in cahoots with murder suspects by serving as spotters.
He said the brains behind several murder incidents in the area used policemen to ensure the success of their illegal activity and achieve impunity.
He said some of them were still assigned to the province.
Baligod said that before the assassination of Degamo on March 4 in Pamplona town, there were 64 murder incidents in the province and they were looking into it.
“I said there are and there were several policemen who acted as spotters even in the previous killings. Yung mga 2012 hanggang prior to March 4, 2023 incident pa,” said Baligod.
“Marami pa pong lumalabas na witnesses po na nagsasabi pa at may sarili silang mga ebidensya na ilang mga kapulisan doon ay tumayo pang spotter ng mga pumatay sa iba't-ibang biktima,” he added.
(There are many more witnesses coming out who say and they have their own evidence that some policemen there stood as spotters of the killers of various victims.)
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr., for his part, said they will check on the report.
“We assure you kung sinuman ang mga involved na pulis dito, ang Napolcom, I am the chairman of Napolcom, we will follow the process of law at kailangan masuspinde ito, matanggal ito for the meantime, pending the investigation,” he said.
(We assure you that whoever is involved in the police, the Napolcom, I am the chairman of Napolcom, we will follow the process of law and he/she needs to be suspended, removed for the meantime, pending the investigation.)
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said they are seeing a “pattern of impunity” in the province.
He made the statement following the filing of murder charges against suspended Negros Oriental Governor Arnolfo Teves Jr. in relation to the killings of three individuals in Dumaguete City in 2019.
Degamo, along with eight other individuals, was killed in broad daylight by at least 10 armed men.
At present, 11 suspects in the killing of Degamo are under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
One of them, Nigel Electona, is a dismissed policeman, formerly assigned at the Dumaguete City Police Office.
Teves was tagged as the mastermind in Degamo’s killing. The Special Task Force Degamo confirmed this following the arrest of one of Teves’ long-time bodyguards, Marvin Halaman Miranda.
In 2020, Degamo bared a plot to kill him and his wife Janice. It was prevented following the arrest of three suspects in Malay, Aklan over illegal possession of firearms. Miranda was among those arrested. (SunStar Philippines)