Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced on Thursday that he has initiated an investigation into allegations made by some of the accused individuals in the murder case of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.
These individuals claimed to have been subjected to torture by law enforcement agents and coerced into implicating suspended Rep. Arnolfo Teves, Jr. in the crime.
During a press conference, Remulla expressed doubt regarding the credibility of these allegations.
“Pero ito tatanungin ko sa inyo. Bakit gusto nila maiwan sa NBI kung tinorture sila sa NBI? I’ll ask you that,“ he said.
He deemed their actions inconsistent with someone who had experienced torture and viewed them as an attempt to confuse the issue, particularly since the case against them is already strong and supported by substantial evidence.
“Kung talagang tinorture sila sa NBI, bakit gusto nila maiwan sa NBI? Bakit ayaw nilang malipat palabas ng NBI? So is that consistent with somebody who was tortured in that place? No. It’s an afterthought. It’s a cover,” the justice secretary added.
Five suspects earlier retracted their previous statements against Teves by submitting affidavits in court and filing petitions for habeas corpus with the assistance of their lawyers.
Five additional suspects followed suit through their legal representatives, while one accused, Marvin Miranda, has not made any statements from the outset. However, the justice secretary claimed that Miranda is the "director" behind the recantation of the suspects.
Currently, there are 11 individuals in custody related to the case.
Despite the recantations, Remulla emphasized that the prosecution still possesses sufficient evidence to proceed with the Degamo murder cases.
He also clarified the significance of recantations in legal proceedings, pointing out that courts generally view them unfavorably and do not assign them significant weight in determining the truth.
“Pero ang lumalabas kasi dyan, if you look at your jurisprudence through the hundreds of years that recantations have been talked about by all the courts throughout the world, recantations are frowned upon by the courts,” he added.
