Slain suspect in Degamo killing identified as ex-rebel

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 15, 2023): Slain suspect in Degamo killing identified as ex-rebel (By Mary Judaline Partlow)

SLAIN SUSPECT. The Special Joint Task Force Negros has identified the sixth suspect in the March 4 gun slay of then Gov. Roel Degamo and eight others in Pamplona, Negros Oriental. The slain suspect was identified, based on revelations of other arrested suspects as an ex-New People's Army member from Bindoy, Negros Oriental. (Photo courtesy of the JTF Negros)

DUMAGUETE CITY – The Special Joint Task Force Negros said Wednesday that the slain suspect in the March 4 killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and eight others was a former member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

The slain suspect was identified as Arnil Labradilla of Sitio Awang, Barangay Atotes in Bindoy town, Negros Oriental.

Labradilla was identified based on revelations by other suspects apprehended during the pursuit operations by military and police personnel hours after the attack, Maj. Cenon Pancito III, task force spokesperson, told the Philippine News Agency.

He was killed after he allegedly resisted arrest and engaged in a shootout with pursuing troops hours after at least 10 gunmen barged into the residential compound of Degamo in Pamplona town and shot the governor including several people who were there to seek assistance.

Of the six suspects identified, Pancito said four are already in the custody of the Department of Justice (DOJ), and have cooperated with authorities. The fifth suspect, who surrendered, is still undergoing investigation procedures, while the slain former rebel was brought to his hometown after his parents claimed the body.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1197477