Widow of Slain Gov. Degamo Wins Negros Oriental Seat

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – “Roel, this is for you.”

Those were the words of Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo after she was proclaimed winner of the congressional race in Negros Oriental’s 3rd District on Tuesday, May 13.

Her victory is widely seen as a tribute to her husband, slain Gov. Roel Degamo.

Degamo secured a decisive win with 158,007 votes, defeating Reynaldo Lopez and Janice Teves, an aunt of former Gov. Henry Teves and ousted Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr.

Her win comes amid a disqualification complaint filed in late April questioning her residency in Siaton town.

Her legal counsel maintains she met the one-year residency requirement, citing the family’s home and business operations in Barangay Bonawon, Siaton—also the final resting place of her husband.

The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region clarified that the disqualification petition must be heard by the Comelec First Division and may be appealed to the Comelec en banc or the Supreme Court.

Comelec officials noted the complaint was filed just weeks before the polls and added that once a candidate is proclaimed and sworn in, such matters fall under the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal’s jurisdiction.

In a Facebook video on May 12, ahead of her official proclamation, Degamo—who was leading in the vote count—visited her husband’s grave and thanked supporters.

She said her victory was also a victory for justice, calling it an expression of public love and support for her husband.

She pledged to serve with integrity and build a “smarter, safer and more orderly” 3rd District.

In another Facebook post, she thanked thousands of Negrenses for using their votes to declare they “will never again live in fear and never forget the murder of my beloved husband, Gov. Roel Degamo.”

Her husband was assassinated in March 2023 at their home in Pamplona, shocking the province.

Former Rep. Arnie Teves was tagged as a suspect in the killing but denied involvement.

Meanwhile, Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria won reelection, defeating former Gov. Henry Teves, the brother of Arnie Teves.

Sagarbarria first assumed the post in May 2023 following the death of then Gov. Carlo Jorge Joan Reyes.

Reyes had taken office two months earlier, after Degamo’s assassination.