Degamo widow says possible recantations of slay suspect-witnesses expected

The widow of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo on Tuesday shrugged off the possible recantations of suspect-witnesses in the assassination of her husband, saying "it didn't come unexpected."

"Even from the start, I was also already informed by my lawyers that that is something we should also expect. Parang it didn't come unexpected, 'yung recantation," said Pamplona, Negros Oriental Mayor Janice Degamo in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

"From their experience, it has really become part of a legal process, 'pag nasa gitna na tayo, papunta na tayo sa pag-file ng kaso kay Congressman Teves," she added, referring to suspended Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo Teves Jr., the alleged mastermind in the assassination.

(The recantation did not come unexpectedly. From our lawyers' experience, it will become part of the legal process once we are in the middle of filing a case against Congressman Teves.)

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday said the filing of murder complaints against Teves has been pushed back because six to seven suspects-turned-witnesses are now refusing to cooperate as advised by their private lawyers.

While none of the suspects have recanted his statement yet, Remulla said he is expecting it to happen.

This was echoed by Mayor Degamo, who said she has expected the worst to happen.

"I already have that in mind na baka mangyayari talaga… kasi [nagi-expect] tayo ng worst scenario [that this will happen because we are expecting the worst scenario]. But we are still very confident that we will make it," she said.

Remulla said 10 murder complaints will be filed against Teves as 10 people died in the incident. Aside from these, several other complaints of multiple frustrated murders and multiple attempted murders will also be filed.

At least 10 suspects earlier linked Teves to the killing of governor Degamo and nine others, according to the Justice secretary.

For his part, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, Teves' legal counsel, explained that generally speaking, recantations done before the filing of a case may "affect" the prosecution.

"Kung ang recantation ay before magsampa ng kaso o wala pa sa korte 'yung kaso o early stages ng trial, at wala pang cross examination, hindi pa nape-presenta ‘yung witness, may epekto 'yun," he said in a separate Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(If the recantation is done before filing the case, when the case is not yet in court, or is still in the early stages of the trial, and there is no cross examination and the witness has not been presented yet, that will have an effect on the case.)

Remulla said the development will not stop them from filing the proper cases against Teves as statements were given "much earlier and freely" in front of witnesses and Public Attorneys Office (PAO) lawyers.

Teves, who is out of the country and whose request for asylum in Timor-Leste was denied, has repeatedly denied having a hand in the killing of Degamo, saying he and his family do not stand to benefit from it. —KBK, GMA Integrated News