Roel Degamo

Roel Ragay Degamo (April 29, 1966 – March 4, 2023) was a Filipino politician who served as governor of Negros Oriental from 2011 to June 2022, and again from October 2022 until his assassination on March 4, 2023. He previously served as the province's vice governor from 2010 to 2011, and was a municipal councilor of Siaton from 1998 to 2007. In the 2010 elections, he garnered the most votes for the Negros Oriental Provincial Board. With the successive deaths of the elected governor and vice governor, Degamo ascended to the governorship in January 2011. He was suspended from office in October 2017 until January 2018 due to three dismissal orders from the Office of the Ombudsman stemming from allegations of misappropriating public funds. He successfully appealed his suspension and dismissal. Degamo lost the gubernatorial race to Pryde Henry Teves in the May 2022 elections. However, back in October 2021, during the run-up to the elections, Degamo filed an electoral complaint to have another gubernatorial candidate—an almost namesake known as "Ruel Degamo"—be declared a nuisance candidate meant to "confuse and deceive" the electorate. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) ruled in the governor's favor, however, the latter candidate filed an appeal. The election pushed through before COMELEC made a final ruling on the case. In June 2022, a defeated Degamo filed a petition for mandamus at the Supreme Court, which compelled COMELEC to resolve the case. On October 3, 2022, COMELEC upheld their earlier decision and transferred votes obtained by Ruel to Roel, proclaiming him the election's true winner. On March 4, 2023, he was assassinated by a group of armed men at his home in Pamplona, Negros Oriental.