Lawyers of the detained suspects in the March 4, 2023 killings of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel R. Degamo and nine other persons denied the P8 million allegedly offered to each of their clients for the retraction of their testimonies. The allegation on the P8 million offer per suspect was aired by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla who said the information was gathered inside the headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) where the suspects are detained. Remulla alleged that the money was offered by former Department of Justice (DOJ) undersecretary Reynante Orceo, the legal counsel of Marvin H. Miranda who has been tagged as “co-conspirator” with Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” A. Teves Jr. in the killings. “This is purely hearsay,” Orceo said in a statement. “As lawyers, which Sec. Remulla is supposedly aware of, such statement is devoid of evidentiary weight or probative value,” he explained. He also said that he does not represent all of the 11 detained suspects in the killings. “We only represent Miranda, and all the other accused are represented by different counsels. The recantations of all the other accused should be attributed to their respective counsels, not to us,” he stressed. Ten of the 11 suspects detained at the NBI have recanted their supposed testimonies on their involvement and the participation of Teves in the killings. Lawyer Danny Villanueva, the legal counsel of five detained suspects, told journalists in a Zoom meeting that he is “completely clueless about this allegation” on the P8 million offer. “Sa tingin ko po napaka imposibleng mangayari ‘yan (I think it is highly impossible to happen) given that all of the accused are currently in the detention center of the NBI at limited lang ho ang pagkakataon maging yung espasyo na binibigay sa mga dentainees sa NBI (and the space given to detainees is limited),” Villanueva said. “At hindi mo pa alam kung naka record ang lahat ng pag-uusap nyo dahil naka paligid ang mga tao ng NBI habang nagkakausap ang mga nakapiit at mga abugado. ‘Yung celpphone and gadgets and wallets iniiwan sa guard sa labas (And you would not know if the conversations are recorded because NBI personnel are there while the suspects are talking to their lawyers.  The mobile phones, gadgets and wallets are left with the guards),” he said. Another lawyer, Jord Valenton, denied the P8 million offer for recantation. “I will never do such a thing,” Valenton assured. Remulla had said the P8 million offer to each of the suspects “is technically an obstruction of justice.” He also said the reported involvement of Orceo in the issue has left “a bad taste in the mouth.” “We try our best to serve the people in this capacity, at least for the people that I have with me in my team, the undersecretaries and the assistant secretaries, the directors of the Department of Justice. I have a very high regard for them. It is very unfortunate there are people who will go stoop so low if ever these things are proven,” he said. He then said that he sees a conflict of interest in Orceo’s decision to be the legal counsel of Miranda. “We have to look at the conflict-of-interest angles when it comes to serving the DOJ. If you go back to private practice you shouldn’t be able to go back to criminal law practice because there should be a prohibition against it,” he said.