The family lawyer of the late Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo said they will be filing more cases soon in relation to about 60 killings in the province.
In an interview on Monday, April 17, at the preliminary investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the March 4 slay of Degamo and eight others, lawyer Levito Baligod said suspended Rep. Arnolfo Teves (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) will be among those who will be sued.
“I think in a few days from now, we will be filing new murder cases involving previous killings,” Baligod said. “Actually there are a lot more as I’ve said in my previous interviews. In my record alone, I have 64 already na (that are) incidents of killings”, he added.
Baligod already filed murder complaints against Teves before the DOJ on March 7 for the deaths of three persons in Negros Oriental in 2019.
The alleged victims were former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent Miguel Dungog, Lester Pialago Bato and Pacito Retes Libron.
Monday’s preliminary investigation involved the 10 witnesses under the NBI’s custody.
They are former soldiers who were arrested in succession soon after the Pamplona town massacre.
The governor’s widow, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, and her group of about 40 left Dumaguete City over the weekend to attend the investigation and the Senate probe, which also began Monday.
The DOJ investigation has yet to include Teves, who has refused to return to the country despite the expiry of his personal travel authority on March 9.
He is suspended for 60 days until May 22, with House Speaker Martin Romualdez acting as caretaker of his district.
A preliminary investigation was also held on the charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against Teves’ sons, Axel and Kurt Matthew, in connection with the 2019 triple murder charges.
Another hearing is scheduled next month.
Baligod said the families of the victims are concerned over the delay in issuing subpoenas or warrants.
“I explained to them that this is what due process entails and they understand that there will be a little delay but we will eventually reach our objective to attain justice for all,” he said.*PNA