Fugitive congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. on Thursday said two top government officials are plotting to have him killed.
Facing murder charges and tagged as the mastermind behind the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, Teves has been abroad and has refused to return to the Philippines, saying he fears for his life.
In an interview with ANC’s Headstart, Teves refused to name names for fear of libel. But he said “verified intelligence reports” said these two government officials were out to kill him.
He said the instructions were to raid his house, plant evidence, then have him shot “for fighting back.”
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla dismissed Teves’ claim as “nonsense.”
Teves, who was suspended for 60 days from the House for his refusal to return to the chamber, said he was ready to return to the Philippines until he got hold of the information regarding the threat to his life.
He also slammed the Senate inquiry into Degamo’s death, saying it was full of “hearsay.”
He added the Senate panel invited a resource person who turned out to be a drug addict.
“They’re painting a picture of a lawless Negros Oriental where everyone is afraid of us,” he said.
In an interview on GMA, Teves also confirmed that one of those taggedas a mastermind in the Degamo killing was his former bodyguard.
He said, however, that he had not talked with the man, Marvin Miranda, since he left his service some time ago.
Teves has denied any involvement in Degamo’s killing.
Degamo and eight others were killed while several others were injured after gunmen shot up the governor’s home in Negros Oriental on March 4, during a ceremony to distribute aid.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, meanwhile, said the complaints for illegal possession of firearms and explosives filed against Teves were enough to designate him a terrorist.
Remulla said they have taken steps to designate the fugitive lawmaker a terrorist, which would put pressure on him to return to the Philippines.
Teves dismissed Remulla’s plan to tag him as a terrorist, saying this was not the intention of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
He said they were trying to use the law to force him to go home and be killed.
Remulla on Thursday said he had information that Teves was going back and forth between South Korea and Cambodia.
During a Senate hearing, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said his friends saw Teves in a hotel in South Korea eating at a buffet.
When asked to confirm this, Teves declined to comment, saying, “It’s for me to know and for them to find out.”
On Wednesday, the widow of Degamo agreed that a military takeover in Negros Oriental might help, saying she wants an end to impunity in the province.
During the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs hearing which focused on the murder of Degamo, Senator Robin Padilla asked officials if it was time for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to authorize the military to take control of the province.
He said the Chief Executive can do so under Article 7, Section 18 of the Constitution, which states that “the President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.”
“Do you think it is time for this in Negros Oriental?” he asked.
Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the slain governor’s widow, agreed with Padilla that a “military takeover” can defuse the situation in Negros Oriental, though not to the point of martial law.
Senator Francis Tolentino, meanwhile, proposed postponing the upcoming barangay and youth elections in Negros Oriental due to the volatile situation in the province.
He warned that the situation in Negros Oriental may lead to further chaos, especially if the local polls should proceed in the province this October.
Mayor Degamo welcomed the senator’s proposal, saying will definitely help the current situation of the province.
On Tuesday, officials and ordinary residents of Negros Oriental aired their grievances against the Teves political clan.
Mayor Degamo and a long line of Negrenses asked for the Senate’s immediate intervention amid the supposed threats from the Teves family.
Former Negros Oriental governor Pryde Henry Teves, who attended the hearing, denied accusations against him and his brother.