Negros Oriental 3rd District, Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who has been charged with three 2019 murders, said he would not fly home for fear of his life. This as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the formation of a special panel of prosecutors to look into the killings in the province.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Tuesday said Teves called him from an undetermined location Monday night, saying he would not return to the Philippines because he feared for the safety of his person and his family.
Teves, who was in the United States, was also linked to the March 4 assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo.
“I assured him that the Speaker, as the political and administrative leader of the House of Representatives, will exert all efforts to ensure the personal safety of all members,” Romualdez said.
He renewed his appeal to Teves to return to the country soon.
Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez, chairman of the House committee on public order and safety, said Teves is innocent until proven guilty.
He said a panel hearing that was to be held Tuesday was called off in deference to the ongoing investigation.
Also on Tuesday, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said the President ordered the formation of a special panel of prosecutors to look into the killings in Negros Oriental.
“We are now constituting a panel of prosecutors to handle the Negros Oriental cases and that’s the instruction of the President to make sure that a panel that skilled— at this level of skill is already there to evaluate the cases so that no stones will be left unturned,” he said.
Remulla had said that officials noticed a “pattern of impunity” in Negros Oriental after visiting the wake Degamo.
Remulla said Marcos wants the situation in Negros “stabilized and resolved.”
“So far we have arrived at more persons of interest in the crimes committed. We also discussed crimes that will be charged,” Remulla said.
He added that they are looking to file nine murder charges, 15 frustrated murder charges, and three attempted murder charges.
The Supreme Court has granted Remulla’s request to transfer the cases filed and will be filed, in connection with the killing of Degamo and eight others.
SC spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka said Remulla’s letter was tackled during the regular en banc session of the magistrates on Tuesday.
In his letter, Remulla cited several reasons in seeking the transfer of the cases including possible intimidation and harassment of the respondents, private complainants, and their witnesses considering that three of the victims are government officials.
Remulla also said the case has gained significant media attention in Negros Oriental, thus, creating a hostile environment for the respondents.
There were also logistical difficulties of conducting the trial in the province, as the respondents are currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation-Custodial Center in Manila.
Also on Tuesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) filed firearms violation charges against Teves after raids on his residences in the province last week.
Police said aid six people were arrested, including Teves’ secretary Hanna Mae Sumerano Oray during the raids in five different houses in Basay and Bayawan City, Negros Oriental last Friday.
During the search, various long and short firearms, ammunition, and explosives were discovered.
In the Senate, Senator JV Ejercito called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to dismantle all existing private armies throughout the country.
He said the suspects in the recent assassination of Degamo used “sophisticated” firearms and showed signs of advanced training in close-quarter combat.
“I’m hoping that with the deployment of troops and Philippine National Police personnel, the government can already catch and apprehend all of these killers,” he said.
“What is more important is to disband private armies all around the country,” he said.
Until the government is able to dismantle or neutralize these armed elements, Ejercito said he supports the deployment of troops and PNP so that order can once again be restored in the province of Negros Oriental.