Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla considers the murder of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo as “case closed”.

“We have seen that, in police terms, this is considered case closed. We will then proceed to the prosecution,” Remulla said at a press conference Monday.

“But we know who masterminded it. At least two of them and we know who did it, the 11 whose pictures we showed earlier,” he added.

“We will move on to the next cases afterwards but of course, there will be other edges that we will have to smoothen out in this case but we believe we are there already on the way to achieving justice in more ways than one,” he said.

Remulla earlier said Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves,Jr. as the “main mastermind” in the Degamo slay. Marvin Miranda, a military reservist linked to the lawmaker, as the second mastermind.

He said the 11 suspects involved in the killing of Degamo are under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

For his part, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said Miranda had been a long-time security of Teves and had a criminal record in 2020.

Citing the testimonies of the arrested suspects, Abalos claimed that Miranda was ordered by Teves to recruit assassins and give them logistical and material support in the planning and execution of the murder against Degamo.

“We are now at the tailend for our quest for justice and hunt for the masterminds behind the death of Governor Degamo and eight others and the wounding of many more victims,” Abalos told reporters.

“With the arrest of Marvin Miranda, we are certain that the pieces of the puzzle are almost complete and we can clearly picture out what transpired before, during, and after the brazen attack in Pamplona which will eventually help us in unmasking and identifying the main conspirators and main masterminds behind the gruesome murder of Degamo and others,” he added.

On March 4, Degamo and eight others were shot dead while distributing aid in his compound in Pamplona, Negros Oriental. Jaspearl Tan/DMS