• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the widow of slain Governor Roel Degamo, ended the long standing dominance of the Teves political clan in the 3rd political district of Negros Oriental, by winning the district’s congressional seat during the May 12 elections.
Degamo defeated Janice Teves Gaston, an aunt of the siblings, former Negros Oriental Governor Pryde Henry Teves and dismissed Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves, a former congressman of the 3rd district.
Degamo garnered 128,007 votes and was proclaimed yesterday as the new congresswoman of the Negros Oriental 3rd district.
The Teves siblings were linked to the killing of Governor Degamo and nine others in 2023.
Meanwhile, Pryde Henry was defeated by incumbent Governor Chaco Sagarbarria in the Negros Oriental gubernatorial race.
Sagarbarria won with 365,020 votes against his closest rival, Pryde Henry, who garnered 254,415 votes, based on the records of the Commission on Elections.
In August 2023, the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) tagged the two Teves brothers and 11 others as terrorists, for their alleged involvement in the Pamplona massacre.
While Negros Oriental was classified as an area of concern, the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces assessed the peace and order situation during the May 12 polls in Negros Island Region, as generally peaceful, aside from the shooting incident in Silay City, Negros Occidental, that claimed the lives of two persons, and injured seven others.
PBrig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, regional police director of Police Regional Office Negros Island Region, said the overall conduct of the election across the region remained calm and orderly.*
