DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, March 6 (PIA) --  Senator Imee Marcos on March 5 has urged President “Bongbong” R. Marcos to declare a state of emergency in the entire province of Negros Oriental as soon as possible following the brutal killing of Gov. Roel Ragay Degamo and eight others.

In a press conference, the senator said the province should be locked down so that the hitmen including the mastermind, their paymasters and whoever conspired should be stopped and arrested.

In her stint as governor of Ilocos Norte, Marcos worked with Degamo in the Governor’s League.

She also said the late governor made a great contribution in initiating the local peace talks with the New People's Army through Pres. Rodrigo Duterte at that time.

“When I was also fighting for more investments in agriculture and similarly, Governor Degamo was very concerned about fisheries and the restoration of the old Fisheries Code under my father," said Marcos.

The killing in the province is one of several attacks that have taken place in the country in recent weeks.

These include Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. who was shot and wounded in Bukidnon on Feb. 17; Aparri, Cagayan Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda who was murdered on Feb. 19; and Maguindanao Mayor Ohto Montawal, who was injured in an ambush along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City on Feb. 22.

This upsurge of violence and lawlessness in the country has to end immediately, Marcos said.

She explained the need to declare a state of emergency in the province, as “it is very important to get first our peace and order back on track and to be able to round up all the suspects as quick as possible. But the business should continue for legitimate transport and cargoes to revive the economy in the wake of the pandemic.”

Meantime, the senator also called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the e-sabong which has never been stopped in the province even if it was prohibited by two consecutive administrations.

She called on the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the police as well the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency to assist in the investigation for justice to be swiftly served.

“Let us leave no stone unturned and no culprits unpunished. This cannot go unpunished and the perpetrators of this heinous crime, barbaric as it is and cowardly, should be punished as soon as possible,” she said. (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)