Marcos to ask Interpol to issue blue notice vs. Degamo slay suspects

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will ask the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a blue notice against the suspects in the killing of Negros Oriental Govenor Roel Degamo.

With a blue notice, Interpol members will collect information regarding a person's identity, location and activities, according to a report on News Live on Saturday.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Saturday said it is set to issue an international lookout bulletin on Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. next week.

DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said Teves “is one of those that we are suspecting to be the mastermind behind the Degamo slay.”

However, “everyone has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty," Clavano said.

Two suspects in the Degamo slay, Joric Labrador and Benjie Rodriguez, both former soldiers, earlier named a certain “Cong Teves” as the person behind the fatal attack against the local official.

Teves however denied that he and his brother Henry were involved in the killing of Degamo amid allegations that the incident was politically motivated. The Teveses are political rivals of the Degamo family.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had said Teves already left the United States and was “somewhere in Asia.” The lawmaker's travel authority expired on March 9. Teves asked the House leadership to grant him a two-month-long leave of absence, citing a "very grave threat" to his life and his family.

The DOJ said they had expected Teves to return to the country after Speaker Martin Romualdez urged him to reconsider his decision to stay away in the meantime amid the complaints filed against him.

Aside from four suspects that were arrested and are facing charges, authorities are still investigating 10 more suspects, according to DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano on Saturday.

“Mas marami pa po ‘no sa sampu iyong na involved sa investigation ho natin. Lumalabas po sa mga statements na mayroon po tayong parang layering na tinatawag ‘no – so mayroon po tayong mga gunmen, mga directly involved po doon sa assassination bilang driver, lookout iyong mga ganoon… tapos meron ho tayong handler or parang middleman ‘no na tinatawag. So ito iyong nagsisilbing parang layer of security doon sa ating mastermind,” he said.

(There are more than 10 involved in our investigation. Statements showed that there seems to be layering. So there are gunmen, those who are directly involved in the assassination as driver, lookout. and then there is a handler or middleman. So these serve as a sort of layer of security for the mastermind.)

Clavano added that they have a solid case buildup and they "just have to close all the little gaps."

Degamo was talking to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who were at his residence in Pamplona, Negros Oriental on March 4 when armed men barged in and fired shots. The governor and eight others died while 13 were seriously injured. Four others were treated as outpatients at the hospital. —KG, GMA Integrated News