MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo and other Negros Oriental residents who gave their testimonies during a Senate investigation on the incidents of violence in the province last week.

Marcos, together with Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr., met with Degamo at the Malacañang Palace Thursday evening.

In her Facebook post, Degamo thanked Marcos for meeting with them at the last minute.

She also noted that Marcos himself was reportedly monitoring the marathon hearings held by the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs led by panel chairman Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa.

"It's good to know that our President is truly concerned with our welfare," Degamo said in her post.

In an ANC interview on Monday, the mayor also said her meeting with Marcos was "productive."

"The president is extending help to us by seeing to it the people working on our cases will really do their job because they were put in the position," she said.

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Aside from Degamo, other witnesses in the Senate hearing who met with the President include the family members of former Pamplona vice mayor Kent Divinagracia and local radio broadcaster Edmund Sestoso, who were assassinated in 2020 and 2018, respectively.

Garafil, for her part, said that Marcos inquired about the peace and order situation in Negros Oriental when he met with Degamo and the Senate witnesses.

"Nagtanong si Pangulo tungkol sa peace and order situation sa Negros Oriental upang masiguro na nasa mabuting kalagayan ang mga residente," she told Palace reporters on Monday.

(The President asked about the peace and order situation in Negros Oriental to ensure that residents are in a good condition.)

But Ferdinand Topacio, legal counsel of suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr., slammed the meeting, saying it would compromise the impartiality of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

"The President is the chief executive, kausap niya roon ang... justice secretary na siyang magde-decide [kung] may probable cause against Teves," Topacio told ABS-CBN TeleRadyo on Saturday.

(The President is the chief executive. He communicates with the justice secretary who decides if there's probable cause against Teves.)

"Hindi po dapat magkaroon ng any consultation or any contact, sapagkat complainant ka eh. Paano na iyong piskal magde-decide na walang probable cause against Teves eh kung iyong mismong secretary nila... nakikipag-usap at nakikipag-party-party kasama iyong complainant?" he added.

(There should not be any consultation or contact with complainants. How can the prosecutor decide if there's probable cause against Teves if the secretary meets and parties with the complainant?)

During the marathon hearings, the Senate panel floated the idea of placing the province under military control and suspending the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls to address the peace and order situation in Negros Oriental.

Governor Carlo Jorge Joan "Guido" Reyes, in a text message to ABS-CBN News last week, said he was open to the proposed policies, so long as they were put under a "thorough study and much circumspect for the welfare" of the province's residents.

• Negros Oriental governor says open to military control, suspension of barangay polls

Topacio, on the other hand, slammed the Senate panel's hearings and described them as a "witch-hunt."

"Unfortunately, pinabayaan ng komite na mag-degenerate into a witch-hunt na turuan nang turuan. Iyon ba naman ay kasama in aid of legislation?" he added.

(Unfortunately, the committee allowed the hearing to degenerate into a witch-hunt and finger-pointing. Is that still in aid of legislation?)

Marcos' meeting with Degamo came more than a month since the latter's widow, Gov. Roel Degamo, was killed in an armed attack inside his private compound in Pamplona, Negros Oriental.

During his visit to the governor's wake, Marcos vowed justice for his assassinated ally, who had endorsed him and Vice President Sara Duterte in the May 2022 polls.

• Marcos visits Degamo wake, vows justice for slain ally