A Joint Task Force to step up the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) suppression of lawless violence in Negros Island following the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo has been activated.
Hundreds of troops from the AFP and the PNP were deployed during the weekend in different parts of Negros Oriental to conduct joint security checkpoints.
Lt. Col. Roderick Salayo, 11th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, led the sendoff ceremony of hundreds of composite soldiers from six Army battalions in the province to man at least 21 joint AFP-PNP checkpoints, initially in the Third District of the province, on Sunday. March 12.
The soldiers are from the 11, 94, 62, 47, 79, and 15 IB.
Additional troop deployment is set soon.
“The manhunt will continue for the suspects (in the Degamo killing) indefinitely until the mastermind is arrested. We will also endeavor to win the trust and confidence of the people while working to stabilize the peace and order in the province,” Salayo said.
Salayo said while the Degamo slay was the primary reason for the tightened security checkpoints, these will also play a significant role “side-by-side with their anti-insurgency campaign in the province.”
Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr., Department of National Defense (DND) officer-in-charge, at a press conference in Dumaguete City on Saturday, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s verbal instruction to him is very clear – to get all the 10 suspects in the killing of Degamo, and to dismantle all the tentacles of violence in Negros.
“The Joint AFP-PNP law enforcement operations, under the supervision of the inter-agency task force headed by the Secretary of DILG, myself, and Secretary Remulla, aim to speed up the suppression of impunity in the entire island, and give justice to the families and loved ones of those who were slain in the attack against Governor Degamo,” Galvez said.
The Joint Task Force designated Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. as the chairperson and Remulla and Galvez as co-vice chairpersons.
The heads of the PNP, AFP, National Bureau of Investigation were designated as Task Force commanders.
They will also dig deeper into the different killings that happened before, Galvez said, stressing that “this is the day of reckoning”.
The Joint Task Force has been instructed to ensure that killings do not happen again and to restore the confidence of the people in the government, he added.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines has been tasked to organize two brigades and six battalions to work with the PNP in carrying out the president’s order” and to serve warrants for the killing of Degamo and others, Galvez said.
They will also ensure the safety of the families of the victims and the witnesses, he said.
“The president is very firm in his guidance to solve the case as soon as possible and bring these lawless elements to justice. As the president said they can run but they cannot hide,” Galvez said.
But no state of emergency has been declared or suspension of licenses to carry arms in Negros Oriental, he said.
Galvez, along with AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Andres C. Centino and Philippine National Police OIC Police Lt. Gen. Rhodel O. Sermonia, also visited the wake of Degamo at the Provincial Capitol in Dumaguete on Saturday.
Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the slain governor’s wife, thanked the national government officials for their swift response that has given them a ray of hope that one day soon justice will be attained.
Unmasking the culprit and mastermind will bring peace again to the once peaceful Negros Oriental, she added.
INFORMATION SOUGHT
Galvez encouraged everyone, especially those who have information on the ongoing investigation, to inform the authorities.
“This task force has a unified command center for more accessibility to the civilians. Rest assured that all the information gathered will be used to get the justice everyone deserves,” he said.
Centino reiterated that the Joint Task Force was created so that there will be a “unity of effort” in restoring peace and confidence in the people of Negros Oriental.
“We tasked the forces currently assigned here in Negros to make sure that all of them are aligned and they understand what they are supposed to be doing. We also deployed these forces in areas where we think they are needed the most,” Centino said.
Sermonia said their presence in Negros Oriental on Saturday was to “to ensure that we can restore civility and normalcy in this province. We are here not just to solve the crime and to compel perpetrators to answer for their crimes, but more so, we are here to put a stop to the culture of violence that causes fear in the hearts and minds of the people — and see to it that it never happens again”.
FIREARMS RECOVERED
Two more firearms used in the killing of Degamo and eight other were recovered in Sitio Palasanun, Brgy. Cansumalig, Bayawan City, by composite pursuing teams 8:45 p.m. Friday, the police reported Saturday.
“In the continuing hot pursuit operations, recovered were two assault rifles, magazines, a bandolier with plate and ammunitions,” the Philippine National Police 7 Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) reported.
The hot pursuit operations are still continuing with an aggressive objective of arresting all perpetrators and to bring them to the bar of justice, it said.*with a report from PNA