Three people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Philippine provincial governor Roel Degamo and eight others, authorities said Sunday. A fourth suspect was killed in a shoot‑out, and a total of seventeen people were wounded in the audacious Saturday attack on the sugarcane‑growing heartland of Negros Oriental.
At least six gunmen, armed with rifles and wearing military‑style uniforms, opened fire on the governor’s home in Pamplona municipality, central Negros Oriental. Degamo, 56, became the latest victim of a recent rash of assaults on local politicians; he was the third Philippine politician shot since last year’s general election. Two of the three arrested suspects were former soldiers who had been dishonourably discharged several years ago, the Philippine Army said in a statement. A fourth suspect died in a shootout at a plantation on Saturday night, police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Pelare told journalists. Pelare estimated that about ten suspects were involved in the attack and said authorities believed they were still on the island after ports were closed to prevent their escape.
The death toll, initially reported as six, rose to nine late Saturday, police said. Thirteen people were hospitalized for serious injuries, while four others received treatment for minor wounds. Negros Oriental, one of two provinces on Negros Island, is the centre of the nation’s sugar industry and home to both some of the country’s wealthiest landowners and its poorest farm workers.
The Supreme Court declared Degamo the rightful winner of the Negros Oriental governorship last month after a recount unseated his rival, who had previously been proclaimed victor. Degamo had campaigned for President Ferdinand Marcos during Marcos’s run for the top job. Marcos condemned the “dastardly and heinous” assassination of his political ally and dispatched senior officials, including police and military chiefs, to investigate.
At a news conference on Sunday, authorities presented evidence gathered from the suspects, including high‑powered firearms and camouflage uniforms, and pledged to solve the case. “We will capture the mastermind, I assure you that,” Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos said.
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