3 suspects in murder of Negros Oriental governor nabbed

Three of the six suspected gunmen in the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo are arrested in pursuit operations Sitio Punong, Barangay Cansumalig, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental. The arrest came seven hours after the attack that took place inside the governor’s house. (Contributed photos)

DUMAGUETE CITY — Police arrested two former government soldiers and a man in relation to the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and five others on Saturday, March 4.

Former soldiers Joric Labrador, 50, and Joven Aber, 42; and Benjie Rodriguez, 45, were arrested at around 4:20 p.m., about seven hours after the victims were shot in Barangay 9, Pamplona town.

READ: Negros Oriental governor shot dead inside his house

Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said the policemen seized a .45 caliber Springfield pistol, ammunition, and three identification cards from the suspects.

Pelare said authorities located the three suspects in Barangay Cansumalig in Bayawan City where the getaway vehicles used in the crime were abandoned.

Bayawan is 58.8 kilometers away from Pamplona where Degamo and the other victims were shot.

Police were tight-lipped about the other details of the arrest so as not to impede the ongoing operations to locate the other suspects.

“The hot pursuit operations are still ongoing with the remaining suspects being pursued by joint elements of the PRO-7 and Philippine Army,” he said in a statement sent to reporters at past 5 p.m. on Saturday.

“We are still coordinating with all hospitals to finalize the names of the victims and their respective status,” he added.