Degamo’s widow says preparing for long battle, willing to wait for justice to be served

Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the wife of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, said she is preparing for the long battle for justice to be served.

Apart from the promised help of the government to provide prosecutors, the mayor said she also asked several lawyers whom they trust to represent them in the case.

“Now kung gaano kahaba sa due process naman talaga may timetable talaga tayong tinitignan [However long due process will take, we really have a timetable that we are looking at]. We are willing to wait knowing that at the end of the day we will be able to see justice served on earth,” she said in The Mangahas Interviews.

“Kasi yung sa heaven sure na yan eh, God promises that. Pero gusto ko makita yung justice on earth kaya hinahanda ko yung sarili ko. Pinag-aaralan ko rin yung resources ko how to sustain this long battle and tinitibayan ko po yung loob ko,” she added.

(Because in heaven it is sure, God promises that. But I want to see justice on earth so I'm preparing myself. I'm also studying my resources on how to sustain this long battle and I'm strengthening my heart.)

She also expressed gratitude to those who supported and encouraged them to fight for justice.

The governor was talking to beneficiaries of the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) at his residence in Pamplona, Negros Oriental, on the morning of Saturday, March 4, when armed men barged in and started firing.

The governor and five others were killed. The death toll rose to nine the day after the attack. Thirteen others were seriously injured, while four were treated as outpatients.

'This is it'

Meanwhile, Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves is being linked to the killings.

Two arrested suspects, Joric Labrador and Benjie Rodriguez, both former soldiers, earlier said a certain “Cong Teves” ordered the hit.

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

Asked if she has a message to the Teveses, the mayor said, “Congressman Arnie and former governor Henry, this is it.”

“Sa dinami-rami nang ginawa ninyo, darating at darating talaga yung katapusan ng mga masasamang ginawa ninyo at ito na po yun. The governor died for it, kaya confident ako na may Diyos na nakakakita sa atin and sa Diyos naman po talaga yung revenge, hindi po sa atin,” she said.

(With all the things you have done, the end has been coming and this is it. The governor died for it, so I am confident that there is a God who sees us and the revenge is really God's, not ours.)

“Kaya to these two brothers, tama na po ang inyong pinaggagawa. Tigilan ninyo na po kami at alam, naiintindihan na ng tao, and that’s it. Already it’s the end of the bad things you have been doing in the province,” she added.

(So to these two brothers, stop what you are doing. People understand and that's it.)

The mayor also said that she still believes in the country's justice system.

“For as long as there are people in the justice system that would abhor violence, alam ko po na makukuha namin ito, makukuha namin ang hustisya. It is our prayer that we will continue to have justices na talagang aanib at papanig sa katotohanan sa tama at sa dapat, kaya I still believe in the justice system of this country,” she added.

(For as long as there are people in the justice system who abhor violence, I know that we will get it, we will get justice. It is our prayer that we will continue to have justices who will really adhere and side with the truth in what is right and what should be, so I still believe in the justice system of this country.)

Meanwhile, Pryde Teves said he is willing to allow access to his bank account records and all means of communication to prove that he knew nothing about the assassination.

He also urged his brother, who has refused to return home from a trip overseas, to return to the Philippines. Arnie Teves has already been suspended by the House of Representatives for his non-appearance.

“Sa kapatid ko [To my brother], if you are listening to me, all your brothers, even your parents believe that it is better to come home, it is not good to live life as a fugitive, it is better to come home. Kami ditong naiwan, kami ang naiipit eh [Those of us left here, we are the ones getting caught in the middle],” he said. — BM, GMA Integrated News