Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested one of the major players in the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, making the case 99 percent solved, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday.
Remulla said, on his reading of the situation, he would consider the recently arrested suspect as one of the masterminds, and they have been tracking him for the last three weeks.
“For the last three weeks, we were on his trail already,” Remulla said, adding that he ordered a manhunt for the person after his name was mentioned in the affidavits of the other suspects already in the custody of the NBI.
The suspect, Remulla said, had managed to flee Negros Oriental before the NBI could catch up with him.
“Siya yung pinapahanap namin talaga [We are really looking for that person]. We wanted him to be caught, and we were able to focus on that, and I congratulate the NBI for a job well done,” Remulla added.
Now that the case is almost solved, Remulla said politics plays a major part in the motive and suspended Congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. “fits in right there.”
Remulla earlier said that Teves, who is currently abroad, is being considered as one of the masterminds after his name was mentioned by the suspects currently under the custody of the NBI.
“He fits in right there…In the middle of everything,” Remulla said when asked where Teves stands in the Degamo case.
READ: Remulla: Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. ‘being considered’ as among masterminds in Degamo slay
The NBI already has in its custody 11 suspects, including the recently arrested individual who has to undergo debriefing.
Remulla has refused to give further details.
“We want to get the details first. We want to see the attitude and we have to take a break kasi [because] this has been very intense and now we can heave a sigh [of relief] for a few days,” he said.
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