SEN. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday said at least 30 witnesses are expected to attend today’s first committee hearing on the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo.
Dela Rosa, chair of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, said the hearing will tackle other political killings in the province. None of the over 30 resource persons is a witness to the March 4 Degamo killing.
“More than 30 resource persons will speak. They are witnesses to cases of violence in Negros Oriental, other than the Degamo case. These are the unsolved cases that’s why the committee decided to invite them. They said they mustered enough courage to surface only now. This will be a big help to the prosecution, to solve these unsolved cases,” Dela Rosa said in mixed Filipino and English, in an interview with dzBB.
The committee was supposed to hold its first hearing on the Degamo case and other political killings in the country last month but decided to postpone it for today after investigating authorities requested more time to gather evidence and file charges against those involved in the Degamo case.
Dela Rosa said the committee hearing will not “compete” with the investigation of the Department of Justice as he intends to come up with legislation to improve the peace and order situation in the country.
The DOJ has tagged Teves as a key player in the killing of Degamo. Teves has denied any involvement but has not surfaced since his travel authority expired last month, saying there are threats to his life.
Dela Rosa said he has not yet physically met the witnesses but he is confident they have a lot of “pasabog (explosive revelations)” about previous killings. He added he does not know who the witnesses will implicate.
TEVES ATTENDANCE
Last week, Dela Rosa said suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. has confirmed virtual attendance to the hearing, but this was opposed by Mayor Janice Degamo, widow of the Negros Oriental governor.
In a letter to Dela Rosa dated April 14, the mayor said she was “disappointed” by the committee chairman’s decision to allow Teves to virtually attend the hearing, saying it was unfair to her and the other witnesses/resource persons who will risk their safety and security just to physically attend the hearing.
“The decision has greatly affected the victims who strongly disagree with such an accommodation. We believe that all participants in the hearing should be treated equally and given the same opportunity to attend personally, regardless of their position or status,” Degamo said.
“Allowing some participants to attend through Zoom/teleconferencing undermines the value and importance of our presence in the hearing, and it is unfair to those who will be attending personally. Cong. Teves is a fugitive. He should not be afforded such an accommodation,” she added.
Degamo said Dela Rosa should reconsider his decision.
Dela Rosa said he will discuss the matter with the members of the committee before the hearing today.
He said they decided to allow Teves to virtually attend the hearing so they can also hear the side of the suspended congressman to ensure a fair investigation.
