Three men accused of participating in the March 4, 2023 Pamplona massacre have been convicted of unlawful possession of firearms and explosives, with two of them facing reclusion perpetua, Negros Oriental Third District Representative Janice Vallega Degamo announced on Wednesday, September 3, 2026.
Degamo, the widow of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, disclosed the convictions in a statement posted on her official Facebook page. She identified the three convicted men as Joric Garrido Labrador, Joven Calibjo Javier, and Benjie Rodriguez.
Firearms and Explosives Charges Filed in Bayawan City
The convictions cover illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges only — separate from the multiple murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder cases arising from the attack, which remain pending and are being tried in Manila.
Charges for illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives were filed in March 2023 before the Bayawan City Regional Trial Court, according to court records. The charges stemmed from a cache of weapons — including assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, handguns, ammunition, and body armor — recovered in Barangay Cansumalig, Bayawan City, approximately 500 meters from where gunmen abandoned three getaway vehicles.
Labrador was charged under Section 28 of Republic Act No. 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, while Rodriguez faced charges under Republic Act No. 9516, which covers unlawful possession of explosives. The court that handed down the ruling was not identified in Degamo's statement, and copies of the decision were not immediately available.
Court of Appeals Earlier Denied Bid to Quash Evidence
In February 2025, the Court of Appeals denied a bid by Labrador and Rodriguez to quash the informations filed against them and suppress evidence, affirming earlier rulings by a Manila trial court. The denial cleared the path for the cases to proceed to conviction.
The March 4, 2023 Attack on Governor Degamo
Governor Degamo was shot dead at approximately 9:36 a.m. on March 4, 2023, at his residential compound in Pamplona, Negros Oriental, while distributing aid to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Security camera footage showed armed men in military-style uniforms and body armor entering the compound and opening fire.
Nine other people were killed — one of them dying more than two months after the attack — and more than a dozen others were wounded. The governor himself sustained 11 gunshot wounds.
Labrador, Javier, Rodriguez, and a fourth man, Osmundo Rojas Rivero, were arrested within hours of the shooting. Investigators identified them as former soldiers. A fifth suspect was killed in a firefight in Bayawan City.
Alleged Mastermind Teves Still Faces Pending Cases
Expelled Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr., accused of masterminding the assassination, remains in detention. He was arrested in Timor-Leste in March 2024 and deported to the Philippines in May 2025.
In January 2026, a Manila court acquitted Teves in the separate 2019 murder of former provincial board member Miguel Lopez Dungog. The Degamo family clarified at the time that the acquittal had no bearing on the Pamplona massacre cases. In April 2026, a Manila court granted him bail in a separate 2019 killing, but he remained in custody over the Degamo charges.
Rep. Degamo: 'Justice Does Not Forget'
In her statement, Rep. Degamo described the convictions as carrying both pain and hope.
"Today, my heart carries both pain and hope," Degamo said. "Every conviction is a step forward. Every person held accountable brings us closer to the truth and to the justice that Roel and every victim of the Pamplona Massacre deserve."
She acknowledged the rulings would not undo what the victims' families have suffered, but said they stand as a reminder that justice does not forget. She thanked the courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers involved in the case, and said the families would continue fighting for full accountability.
By the Numbers
- 10 — Total people killed in the March 4, 2023 attack, including Governor Degamo
- 11 — Gunshot wounds sustained by Governor Degamo
- 3 — Suspects now convicted on firearms and explosives charges
- 4 — Suspects arrested within hours of the shooting
- 500 meters — Distance from where gunmen abandoned getaway vehicles to where the weapons cache was recovered in Barangay Cansumalig, Bayawan City
- February 2025 — Court of Appeals denied Labrador and Rodriguez's bid to quash charges and suppress evidence
Why This Matters
The convictions mark the first major legal rulings against suspects in the Pamplona massacre, one of the most high-profile political killings in recent Philippine history. While the murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder cases remain pending in Manila, the firearms and explosives convictions — including reclusion perpetua for two of the accused — represent a concrete legal milestone in a case that claimed 10 lives. Full accountability, including the outcome of the still-pending murder charges and the cases against alleged mastermind Teves, remains unresolved.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Rep. Janice Vallega Degamo/Facebook