Roel Ragay Degamo (born April 29, 1966)Francisco, Jose Arnel V

. MetroPost. Retrieved 2011-02-17. is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

politician who is the incumbent governor of the province of Negros Oriental since 2011. He was unseated from the post following the results of the May 2022 local elections but with his opponent's victory nullified, he was proclaimed as the elected gubernatorial candidate in October of the same year.

Life

Early life

He was born in Bonawon, Municipality of

Siaton Siaton ( ceb, Lungsod sa Siaton; tl, Bayan ng Siaton), officially the Municipality of Siaton, is a 1st class municipality and the southernmost settlement in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a po ...

, Negros Oriental. He graduated from St. Louis School - Don Bosco in Dumaguete City, and earned his college degree from Silliman University in 1989, where he majored in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. He took the license examinations in the same year and passed.

Personal life

Degamo's wife is incumbent

Pamplona, Negros Oriental Pamplona, officially the Municipality of Pamplona, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,805 people. Etymology Originally the place was called “ ...

mayor Janice V. Degamo.

Political career

Degamo's involvement in politics started when he ran and was elected as councilor in the Municipality of Siaton, serving three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2007. He served as president of the Provincial Councilors League (PCL) of Negros Oriental from 2004 to 2007, giving him a seat in the Provincial Board, the Provincial Government's

legislative body A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

. He was also elected as Region VII chairperson, which entitled him to a seat in the National Board of the Philippine Councilor's League.

2010 local elections

In the 2010 local elections he ran for a seat on the

Provincial Board Sangguniang Panlalawigan (abbreviated as SP; ), commonly known as the Provincial Board, are the legislatures in Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces. They are the legislative branches of the provinces, and their powers and responsibi ...

, and won with the highest number of votes, representing the 3rd legislative district of the province. Degamo assumed the position of vice-governor when vice governor-elect Agustin Perdices assumed the gubernatorial position left by the elected governor Emilio Macias II, who died before taking his oath of office for another term. The death of Gov. Perdices once again forced Degamo to move up in the political hierarchy of the province and assume the position of governor.

As provincial governor

Before 2022

Degamo was elected for three consecutive terms: in 2013 (under

PDP–Laban Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (), abbreviated as PDP–Laban, is a democratic socialist List of political parties in the Philippines, political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was part of the country's ruling party al ...

), in 2016 (under

National Unity Party The National Unity Party, National United Party, Party of National Unity or National Unity Front may refer to: * National United Party of Afghanistan (founded 2003) * National Unity Party (Albania) * National United Party (Armenia), defunct * Natio ...

), and in 2019 (under

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...

2022 elections

Degamo, ran under

, sought re-election in 2022 for a fourth term after the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) controversially allowed him to run despite completing three terms, but

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Bayawan Bayawan, officially the City of Bayawan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Bayawan), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 122,747 people. Bayawan is located from Du ...

City mayor Pryde Henry Teves. Degamo was initially hesitant to step down from the provincial capitol, but eventually Teves was able to take over the office. Earlier, on December 16, 2021, a COMELEC division granted the petition filed by Degamo declaring another gubernatorial candidate, a certain ''Ruel Degamo'', whose real name is Grego Gaudia, as a

nuisance Nuisance (from archaic ''nocence'', through Fr. ''noisance'', ''nuisance'', from Lat. ''nocere'', "to hurt") is a common law tort. It means that which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public (also "common") ...

. However, the almost-imitated name (''Ruel Degamo'') remained on the official ballot pending a final COMELEC ''en banc'' ruling by election day. On September 1, 2022, the commission denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Gaudia, upholding its earlier ruling. Later that month, the COMELEC, deciding with finality on the declaration about Gaudia, moved to nullify the victory of Teves. The votes garnered by Gaudia would be credited to Degamo, surpassing those by Teves; therefore enough to win. Degamo was proclaimed on October 3, and yet to report to the provincial capitol to assume the governorship once again. Degamo took his oath before Pres.

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( , , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a senat ...

at Malacañang on October 5. Meanwhile, Teves, refusing to step down, had filed an appeal before the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

(SC) to contest the latest COMELEC ruling, which was expected to be decided by October 11. However, on that date, the SC had not act yet on the appeal; Teves later voluntarily relinquished the governorship.

Controversies

Degamo had received three dismissal orders from the

Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

during his tenure from 2011 to 2022: *In 2016, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered Degamo's dismissal for alleged calamity fund misuse from

Typhoon Sendong Severe Tropical Storm Washi, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Sendong, was a late-season tropical cyclone that caused around 1,200 to 1,500 deaths and catastrophic damage in the Philippines in late 2011. Washi made landfall over Minda ...

in 2011 worth P480 million, but he was able to secure a 60-day Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

blocking the suspension. *In 2017, Degamo was suspended for three months for alleged usurpation of calamity funds from the 6.9 magnitude earthquake in 2012. Then vice governor Mark Macias took over the governorship in an acting capacity for 90 days. *Also in late 2017, while Degamo was serving his suspension, the Office of the Ombudsman issued another dismissal order against Degamo after he was found guilty of grave misconduct over alleged misuse of P10 million worth of intelligence funds in 2013. While on suspension, Degamo was able to secure another Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals on January 11, 2018 to block the dismissal order but the

dissolved the TRO on November 13, 2019. However, it was later revealed that the Court of Appeals already resolved the case and cleared Degamo as early as September of 2019, hindering once again his dismissal.

Notes

References

External links

Province of Negros Oriental
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Degamo, Roel Governors of Negros Oriental Silliman University alumni Living people 1966 births United Nationalist Alliance politicians Nacionalista Party politicians