MANILA — The family of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo on Saturday lauded the filing of multiple murder charges against expelled Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., the alleged mastermind of the attack on their patriarch.

The Degamo family’s statement comes hours after the Department of Justice confirmed that Teves and 4 others have already been charged with murder, frustrated murder and attempted murder about 5 months after the killing.

“Our family is happy to hear that finally we are a step closer to justice,” Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the governor’s widow, told ABS-CBN News.

“The filing of the murder, frustrated and attempted murder cases in court against Arnie Teves and the issuance of a warrant of arrest very soon will be a big leap towards getting the justice for our loved ones,” she said in a text message.

The Degamo family “is grateful that the wheels of justice in our country is indeed progressing towards the direction it should go,” the Mayor said.

“We are happy that the entire nation is with us in doing our duties, as living beings, to find justice for the dead,” she said.

Degamo and his men were shot to death in one of his properties in early March.

Following several investigations, Teves — one of Degamo’s political nemesis in Negros Oriental — was alleged as the mastermind of the murder.

The Anti-Terrorism Council earlier this month named Teves, his brother former Negros Oriental Governor Pryde Henry Teves, and several others as terrorists after several firearms were found in their family’s properties in Negros Oriental.

The House of Representatives, on the other hand, had expelled Teves from the chamber, citing his continued absence after he fled abroad earlier this year.

Teves, who has yet to return to the country, had denied all allegations against him.

His camp earlier deferred issuing a statement on his indictment, saying they have yet to receive a copy of the resolution that formally charged him with murder.

• Degamo widow lauds Timor-Leste's rejection of Teves' asylum bid