Arrests bare slay plot vs governor

DUMAGUETE CITY —Two alleged assassins hired to kill Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo were arrested on Thursday near the governor’s home in Barangay Bonawon, Siaton town, 69 km south of here.

Anthony Eleuterio and German Escora allegedly tagged a provincial official as the one who hired them to assassinate Degamo who had been receiving death threats, said Senior Supt. Edward Carranza, provincial police director.

But in an interview with the

Inquirer yesterday, the two denied that they were out to kill the governor, saying they were coerced into confessing by police.

Police said Eleuterio and Escora disguised themselves as bed sheet vendors and were near the house of Degamo when they were seen by the governor’s security detail, all policemen, past 6 p.m.

Degamo, who mostly stays in Dumaguete City, was in his home in Bonawon after visiting the mountain villages of neighboring Sta. Catalina town earlier Thursday.

The presence of vendors near the governor’s home alerted Degamo’s bodyguards because they found it odd for anyone to sell bed sheets at night.

One of the bodyguards was able to recognize Eleuterio, who had a police record and had been out on bail for illegal possession of firearms. The bodyguards coordinated with policemen and arrested the two.

Seized from the suspects were a .45 cal. pistol, an Ingram machine pistol and two explosives.