House suspends Teves for 60 days

Marcos to Teves: Come home

MANILA, Philippines — Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who has refused to return to the country and report for work amid allegations of his involvement in high-profile murder cases, has been suspended by the House of Representatives.

Just hours after President Marcos reiterated his call on Teves to return home, the House voted unanimously, 292-0, to impose a 60-day suspension on the congressman for “disorderly conduct.”

It was based on the recommendation of the House committee on ethics and privileges, chaired by COOP-NATCCO party-list Rep. Felimon Espares.

In his sponsorship speech of Committee Report No. 472, Espares said the panel’s recommendation was made after conducting “rigid and exhaustive investigation” on Teves’ case held from March 15 to 21.

“The real issue on the cases at hand is whether or not the conduct of Congressman Teves in staying abroad with expired travel clearance and his continued defiance to the orders of the House to return to the country and perform his duties as House member constitute disorderly behavior affecting the dignity, integrity and reputation of the House of Representatives,” he said.

Speaker Martin Romualdez pointed out that the call for disciplinary action against Teves was a “pressing matter that warranted the chamber’s urgent and sound response.”

Teves had been on medical leave in the US since Feb. 28, four days before the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo.

The congressman has denied involvement in the March 4 incident but has since refused to return to the country, citing “very grave” threats on his and his family’s security.

After his request for a two-month extension to stay abroad was denied, the House issued on March 20 a 24-hour ultimatum for his return to work.

Instead of complying, Teves came out with a 17-minute video posted on Facebook last Tuesday, claiming that someone had told him that there is an order from Malacañang to implicate him in Degamo’s killing.

Marcos to Teves: Return home

Yesterday, the President urged Teves yet again to come home and face the criminal charges against him, assuring the lawmaker of “all kinds of security” if he decides to surface.

Speaking to reporters in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City yesterday, Marcos said the government does not know of any threat against Teves, who has been implicated in the killing of Degamo in Pamplona, Negros Oriental.

“He (Teves) claims there is a threat to his life... We in the intelligence (sector), the best intelligence we have is that we are not – we don’t know of any threat. Where did the threat come from?” the President said.

“But anyway, to reassure him, we’ll provide all kinds of security; whatever he wants. You are rich, you have a private jet, you may land anywhere you want. You may land in an Air Force base. He may land in Basa (Air Base), we’ll have it surrounded with soldiers. No one within one kilometer would be able to approach him... That will guarantee his security,” he added.

At yesterday’s press conference of the Special Task Force Degamo at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said they have not monitored any threat on Teves.

“So far, there’s none; but we will look into that,” Azurin said.

In the separate Laging Handa briefing, the spokesperson for the PNP could not identify a threat against the congressman either, and asked him to provide them more information on his claims.

“Our appeal is for him to provide us the information and the PNP and other agencies of government would provide him security so that he won’t have worries about his safety,” said Col. Jean Fajardo, who spoke partly in Filipino.

Meanwhile, Marcos said he does not have direct contact with Teves, but his cousin who is the House Speaker does; and the government has made offers to ensure his security.

“The only advice I can give to Cong. Arnie (Teves’ nickname) is that as this drags on, the situation you are in becomes more difficult,” Marcos, speaking partly in Filipino, said. “If it is too late, the government will be forced… We will have to move without any discussions with him.”

Degamo and eight other persons were gunned down while 16 others were shot and wounded in the attack, now referred to as the Pamplona massacre.

The President had described the incident as “terrifying” and “entirely unacceptable,” directing the PNP to secure “hot spots” for political violence, seize illegal firearms and dismantle private armies to prevent similar attacks from happening.

Teves slams colleagues

Teves took a potshot at his colleagues in the House for requiring him to physically attend a panel hearing, saying he could not do so because of “serious threats” to his life.

In the video message posted on his Facebook page, Teves, who did not disclose his location, reiterated that he is not in hiding.

“I don’t understand why they were requiring me to appear face-to-face despite my request that I could not do so because of a serious threat to my life,” he said in Filipino, noting he tried to give his side via Zoom but this was denied by the panel.

“My colleagues in Congress, you know how I work. You know who are always present and who are always absent. So, I want to ask the committee: ‘Why is it only Congressman Teves you are asking about attendance?’” he said.

E-sabong claims

In the same video, the congressman expressed belief that Marcos was not behind it, but stressed that he is being targeted by people who want to monopolize e-sabong (online cockfighting).

Yesterday, Marcos said he is not convinced that the issue hounding Teves is related to online cockfighting.

“No, it’s all about the killing of Governor Degamo. We had a problem with e-sabong then. But that’s not what this is about,” said the President.

“When there was e-sabong there, we did not implement this reorganization, we did not transfer the police officials, we did not involve the military because of e-sabong. This is about the killing of Governor Degamo. Pure and simple,” he added.

10 suspects in custody

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos emphasized at the STF Degamo press conference in Camp Aguinaldo that with 10 suspects in custody, authorities are now very close to naming the mastermind.

“Ten are under the custody of the government. These suspects have voluntarily offered relevant testimony that will help the task force (build) a strong case against the perpetrators as well as the intermediaries and the mastermind,” Abalos said, noting that “five more suspects who have a direct participation in this incident” had surrendered.

Abalos, who chairs STF Degamo, said investigators are now using the information provided by the suspects in custody to find about five to six more people involved in the attack and conspiracy.

Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr. and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla joined the press conference as part of the STF created by Marcos to track down and prosecute those behind the March 4 bloodbath.

Teves appeals to Marcos

In another video message posted on Facebook, Teves said the cases lodged against him were based on fabricated evidence and appealed to Marcos to look into it.

“I am not contradicting what you are saying but maybe, you were not briefed properly. I am saying there is a threat (to my life) because as early Jan. 11, I was already mentioning this in press conference that my house would be raided and evidence would be planted. It happened,” the congressman said in Filipino.

The lawmaker has reiterated that he had nothing to do with the slaying of the governor of his province and that the grenades and guns confiscated from his house were planted.

Teves was referring to the warranted search by PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives of his two properties in Negros Oriental last March 15 that resulted in the seizure of illegal firearms, ammunition and grenades and the arrest of six of his associates.

Consequently, he, the six people arrested and his two sons, Kurt Matthew and Axel, were criminally charged over the illegal firearms allegedly connected to the killing of three people in the province in 2019.

Teves is charged as the alleged mastermind of those murders.

At yesterday’s Laging Handa briefing, Fajardo addressed the accusation of Teves and his lawyers that the police raiding teams had planted evidence in order to persecute them.

The PNP spokesperson dared them to file charges in court so that the CIDG could respond to such accusations in the proper forum.

With regard to Degamo’s death, the lawmaker decried that accusing fingers were immediately pointed at him without sufficient evidence and investigation.

In another development, 10 municipal mayors of Negros Oriental, including the slain governor’s widow Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, visited the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday to discuss with Remulla the long-standing issue of peace and order in the province.

Remulla said the aim of the visit was to provide the DOJ with information and documents that could aid in the government’s ongoing fact-finding to determine whether there is a need to file cases in the various violent incidents that have occurred throughout the province over the past years.

“They’re very appreciative that we’re not stopping at anything and that we’re doing our work, and they’re giving us more details on what’s happening in Negros Oriental,” he told reporters. — Alexis Romero, Neil Jayson Servallos, Michael Punongbayan, Delon Porcalla, Emmanuel Tupas