GOVERNORS’ MEETING. Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson (right) meeting with the late Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo to discuss the proposed creation of the Negros Island Region in Dumaguete City last Feb. 1. "We lost a friend in Governor Degamo. Let's join in mourning together with his family," Lacson said on Monday (March 6, 2023). (File photo courtesy of PIO Negros Occidental)
BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday he will maintain the number of his security personnel even after the violent attack that claimed the life of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo at his hometown of Pamplona over the weekend.
"No," Lacson told reporters when asked if he plans to beef up his security.
"As long as you're aware of the situation in the province and in the areas that you go to. I will always be guided by that," he added.
Lacson, who met with Degamo in Dumaguete City to discuss the proposed creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR) on Feb. 1, said that during their meeting, he noticed that the Negros Oriental governor “had a lot of security”.
“We actually lost a friend in Governor Degamo. He may have his misgivings about NIR but I was confident at the end of the day, he will not object to the creation of the new region. Let's join in mourning together with the family of Governor Degamo," he added.
Lacson wishes that justice will be served not only to Degamo but also to the civilians who also lost their lives during the carnage.
The governor added that he will visit Degamo’s wake in Dumaguete “any day this week”.
At the Provincial Capitol grounds in this city, the Philippine flag is flown at half-mast as a sign of the Negrenses mourning the death of the Negros Oriental governor.
On the morning of March 4, a group of armed men killed Degamo and eight others, including two barangays officials, and injured 17 others inside the governor’s residential compound in Barangay San Isidro.
So far, four suspects have been arrested while one had been killed following hot pursuit operations. (PNA)
