ANOTHER suspect in the murder of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and several others recanted his statement linking suspended Congressman Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. to the slay case.
According to lawyer Danny Villanueva, counsel of Joven Javier, his client has withdrawn four statements given to probers at early stages of the investigation.
This brought to five the number of suspects who had retracted their statements.
The first to withdraw his statement was Osmundo Rivero, who claimed in his counter-affidavit that he had been subjected to alleged torture to falsely implicate Teves.
Following Rivero’s recantation, three additional suspects also submitted their recantation. The three were Rogelio Antipolo, Rommel Pattaguan, and Dahniel Lora.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is considering conducting an investigation into the torture claims made by one of the detained suspects in the murder case of lDegamo.
The suspect alleged that he was tortured in order to implicate Teves Jr. in the crime.
Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson attorney Mico Clavano said in a video conference with reporters via Zoom that the DOJ’s current plan is to investigate and verify the allegations made by Rivero.
If the investigation finds no evidence to support the claims, appropriate actions will be taken. However, if it is discovered that there was indeed mistreatment and torture, all individuals involved will be held accountable, Clavano said.
In a five-page counter-affidavit submitted to the DOJ on Monday, Rivero accused the Philippine National Police (PNP) of physically assaulting and torturing him in order to coerce him into implicating Teves as the mastermind behind the crime.
Rivero also claimed that his public attorney advised him to comply with the police’s demands to avoid further harm.
However, Clavano expressed doubts about the credibility of Rivero’s revelations, stating that investigators find it unlikely given the high-profile nature of the case and the close scrutiny it has received from the public.
“At the very beginning, there was no such incident. Based on all the reports and ground information, nothing of that sort occurred,” Clavano explained.
