Vice President Sara Duterte has condemned the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and urged the authorities to investigate the crime.
Degamo was shot dead inside his residential compound in Barangay San Isidro, Pamplona, Negros Oriental, on Saturday morning, March 4.
"I condemn the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo. His death is a tragedy to the province of Negros Oriental, and I am one with the grieving people of the province, his friends, and his family," Duterte said in a statement on Saturday.
"Authorities must immediately probe this cowardly, evil act and bring the perpetrators to justice and pay for their crime, especially the brains behind it," she added.
Based on the initial report, Degamo was accommodating beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4ps) at the entrance of his house when armed men attacked.
"Authorities must start looking at the political feud that has gripped Negros Oriental and has taken so many lives, not just of Gov. Degamo," the vice president continued.
She called him her friend more than a ‘political ally’.
In October 2022, Degamo was named the governor of Negros Oriental.
Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by former Negros Oriental governor Henry Teves questioning the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare Degamo as governor of Negros Oriental.
