MANILA — Governor Roel Degamo formally took his oath as Negros Oriental's returning chief executive at the Malacañang Palace on Wednesday.

Degamo was personally sworn in by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who he campaigned for during the May 9, 2022 elections.

He took his oath together with Emmanuel Buenaflor Salamat, the executive director of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and officials of Malacañang Cameramen Association and Presidential Photojournalists Association.

"Nagpapasalamat tayo sa kanilang dedikasyon at umaasang buong husay at katapatan nilang gagampanan ang kanilang tungkulin para sa bayan," Marcos said in a Facebook post.

(We thank them for their dedication and hope that they will fulfill their duty to the nation with excellence and integrity.)

In a separate post after his oath-taking, Degamo described himself as the "legitimate" governor of Negros Oriental.

Degamo also released a video Wednesday morning, saying that he had issued a directive to course all transactions of the governor's office to him.

Earlier this week, he was proclaimed by the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) special provincial board of canvassers (SPBOC) as the winner of the 2022 Negros Oriental gubernatorial race.

• Degamo proclaimed winner in Negros Oriental gubernatorial race

This was after the Comelec en banc ordered the SPBOC to transfer some 49,000 votes of a nuisance candidate, Grego "Ruel Degamo" Gaudia, to the governor.

The poll body likewise ordered the SPBOC to annul the election victory of Degamo's rival, Pryde Henry Teves.

• Comelec annuls Teves election victory in Negros Oriental

TEVES: 'YOU HAVE TO NULLIFY MY ASSUMPTION'

But in a video statement on Tuesday, Teves maintained that only a Supreme Court decision or an order from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) nullifying his assumption and installment would make him vacate his post.

"For now, I am assumed, I was installed. You have to nullify my assumption and remove me from here and uninstall me before someone else can assume. No two people can assume one seat," he said.

On Tuesday evening, regional officials from the DILG and Philippine National Police (PNP) paid Teves a visit at the Negros Oriental Provincial Capitol in Dumaguete City to discuss the issue.

Teves said the officials showed him a copy of the Comelec writ nullifying his proclamation.

"I asked the DILG if they have an order from their central office uninstalling me as governor. They said they didn't, as they're still studying the [Comelec writ] that was copy-furnished to them," he said in Cebuano.

He also lamented the Comelec order that nullified his victory, saying that he was allegedly sentenced in a case where he was not a party.

"No person can bear the brunt of a decision if he is not a party or if he is a stranger to the case," he said.

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