Negros Or. gov., 5 others killed

Gov. Degamo shot in his house, 3 of 10 suspects arrested, P5m offered for info

n By JOEL ZURBANO, MARICEL CRUZ, VITO BARCELO AND BOBBY LAGSA

NEGROS Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and five other people were shot dead by at least ten gunmen—three of whom were arrested and identified as former military servicemen—inside the governor’s home in Pamplona at around 9:30 in the morning on Saturday.

“Governor Degamo did not deserve that kind of death. He was serving his constituents on a Saturday,” said Degamo’s widow, Janice, who is also the mayor of Pamplona, in a video posted on

More than 40 Chinese ships spotted near Pag-asa Island

THE Philippine Coast Guard said on Saturday Chinese vessels—one from the Navy, one from Coast Guard and 42 suspected maritime militia ships—were spotted near Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.

“These Chinese vessels are estimated to have a distance of approximately 4.5 to 8 nautical miles from Pag-asa Island, clearly inside the land feature’s 12-nautical-mile territorial sea,” the PCG said in a statement.

The PCG said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessel and

China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 5203 were observed to be “slowly loitering” within the surrounding waters of the island.

Fourteen suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels were anchored within the vicinity of Pag-asa Cay 3, while 28 vessels were seen within the area of Pag-asa Cay 4.

“Their continuing unauthorized presence is clearly inconsistent with the right of innocent passage and a blatant violation of the Philippines’ territorial integrity,” the PCG said.

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The governor died while being treated at the Polymedic Hospital about two hours later.

The Philippine National Police said the suspects – wearing camouflage uniforms and bulletproof vests and carrying long firearms –escaped on board three getaway vehicles: a Mitsubishi Pajero (NQZ 735), an Isuzu pickup truck (GRY 162) and a Mitsubishi Montero (YAP 163).

Three suspects – identified as Joric Labrador, Joven Aber and Benjie Rodriguez – were arrested by the Negros Oriental Police in Sitio Punong, Barangay Cansumalig, Bayawan around 4:20 p.m.

Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla offered a P5 million reward for anyone who can give information on the mastermind of the killing while Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos described the attack as “premeditated.” ( See related story on A2 )

PH eyes Japan help on oil spill

THE Philippine government is looking at seeking Japan’s help to contain a rapidly spreading oil spill in Oriental Mindoro which has started to affect three villages in Caluya, Antique after the tanker M/T Princess Empress capsized off the coast of Naujan town on Feb. 28.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on Saturday said the Philippine Coast Guard is working with relevant agencies to contain and recover the slick that could threaten the Verde Island Passage,which has been described as “the center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.”

“Our Coast Guard is there and monitoring how it could further prevent the spill from spreading. Hopefully, it will not reach Verde Island, which is a

Gov’t mobilizes for next week’s transport strike

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has organized an Inter-Agency Monitoring Team (IAMT) in preparation for a weeklong transport strike starting on Monday, the Presidential Communications Office said.

protected area,” Bautista said.

Verde Island is located between Batangas province and Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro.

“We’re looking at asking the Japanese government for help because I was told that they have the capacity to assist us,” he added.

The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) estimated that 20,000 hectares of coral reef, nearly 10,000 hectares of mangroves, and 6,000 hectares of seagrass are at risk in 21 municipalities across Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, and Antique.

Among these are Calapan, Puerto Galera, and Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro; San Jose in Occidental Mindoro; and Coron in Palawan.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority acting head Romando Artes said a meeting will be held today (Sunday) to “finalize emergency plans, prepositioning of assets and identifying transport routes that will be affected by the strike.”

“We will ensure that there will be a maximum deployment, including the NCRPO [National Capital Region Police Office], during the transport strike,” said MMDA general manager Procopio Lipana, head of the IAMT.

The government has consistently downplayed the strike threat, saying only six percent of jeepney drivers are joining the protest.

However, the MMDA, Philippine National Police, and Armed Forces of the Philippines will deploy over a hundred vehicles and mobilize personnel for crowd disturbance. Vito Barcelo, Joel Zurbano, Darwin Amojelar and Maricel Cruz