PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has issued an administrative order allowing the creation of a special task force for the maintenance of peace and order in Negros Island.
Marcos signed Administrative Order 6 on April 3, 2023, directing the task force to “prevent the spread and escalation of violence elsewhere in the Philippines and to maintain peace and order in Negros Island, with due regard to the fundamental civil and political rights of the people.”
The order came in the light of the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo that also resulted in the death of eight other innocent civilians and the wounding of 17 others.
The task force Degamo will be chaired by the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and co-chaired by the chiefs of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of National Defense (DND).
The task force commanders include the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is tasked to extend emergency relief assistance to the families of the victims, while the Department of Health (DOH) shall provide psychological rehabilitation to affected individuals.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (PAFV) is ordered to coordinate with the task force “with the aim of enlisting the full support of all stakeholders.”
“Under AO No. 6, the task force will have the power to coordinate and rationalize the efforts of concerned government agencies and instrumentalities to ensure a whole-of-government approach in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of violence in Negros Island,” the Malacañang said.
“It is further tasked to intensify campaigns against private armed groups and loose firearms,” it added.
Degamo was gunned down in broad daylight on March 4 in his residence in Pamplona town.
Authorities arrested 11 suspects, including the 10 who directly participated in the attack and one of the alleged masterminds.
Those arrested were Osmundo Rojas Rivero, Joven Calibjo Javier, Joric Garrido Labrador, Benjie Buladula Rodriguez, Winrich Baloyo Isturis, Dahniel Pajarillo Lora, Rommel Alaba Pattaguan, John Louis Labrador Gonyon, Eulogio Legario Gonyon Jr. and Rogelio Calimpong Antipolo Jr. and Marvin Miranda who were either former army or police personnel.
Suspended Negros Oriental Third District Representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. was tagged as the “executive producer” of the killing.
He was also charged of murder charges over the killings of three individuals in Dumaguete City in 2019.
Teves, who is currently “in hiding abroad,” denied all the allegations against him.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier noted a pattern of impunity in the province over the past years.
The legal counsel of the kin of Degamo said several policemen, including high ranking officers, served as “spotters” in several murder cases in the province.
Lawyer Levito Baligod said communities in the province are currently relying on the AFP in terms of their safety and security instead of the PNP. (SunStar Philippines)