Beleaguered Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. is not in any way convinced to return to the country even if five witnesses to the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo have recanted their statements implicating him in the slaying.
Teves said he would “most probably” come home once he sees a “semblance of fairness” from those investigating Degamo’s killing.
“With or without recantations, there is still a threat to my life and there is still no semblance of fairness,” he said.
What Teves wants is for Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to retract his statement pinning him to Degamo’s assassination.
“Again, what I’m only asking for is a semblance of fairness, then most probably uuwi na ako [I will come home],” the beleaguered solon said.
Five suspects-turned-witnesses have recanted their testimonies linking Teves to the killing of Degamo and several others last 4 March.
The fifth to recant was Joven Javier, one of the alleged gunmen in the carnage at Degamo’s residence in Pamplona town last March, who now denies planning and participating in the crime and staying at a Teves family-owned property following the killing.
Lawyer Danny Villanueva said Javier has recanted his first statement that was made on 5 March in Negros Oriental before police officers where he said he had participated in the gruesome crime, in which 10 people were killed and a number were wounded.
The lawyer alleged that Javier was tortured by Philippine Army soldiers and Negros Oriental police into admitting that he had a hand in the killings.
Villanueva said that when Javier was turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation, he was “persuaded” to enter the Witness Protection Program as a state witness against other two suspects —Marvin Miranda and Representative Teves, who is accused of masterminding the massacre.
State witness
“Mr. Javier was qualified to be a state witness against the others who were being pointed to as being responsible for the Pamplona massacre. That is the reason why up to this time no case has been filed against Mr. Javier,” Villanueva said.
Javier is the fifth suspect to recant sworn statements that implicated Teves in the crime, following the retractions of Jhudiel Rivero, Romel Pattaguan, Dahniel Lora and Rogelio Antipolo Jr.
Department of Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Mico Clavano said it was “very possible” that Teves — who still refuses to return to the Philippines supposedly out of fear for his life — may be behind the string of recantations.
“We think there’s a bit of a play on their part to discredit the evidence, the case and the DoJ,” Clavano said.
However, the DoJ, particularly Remulla, is confident they have enough evidence to support the multiple murder, attempted and frustrated murder charges against Teves.
Meanwhile, Teves’s camp lambasted the leadership of the House of Representatives for considering President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plea that he return to the country despite the executive branch having no business meddling in the legislative branch.
In a virtual conference on Monday, Teves’s legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio questioned the House committee on ethics and privileges’ taking into account the executive branch action when concerns involving a member of Congress are beyond its control.
“In one of the letters, the disorderly conduct they were looking at was the failure to heed the call of the Speaker (Martin Romualdez) and the President. Since when does the call of the President to a member of Congress constitute disorderly conduct (on the part of Teves)?” Topacio asked.
Teves’s failure to heed the marching orders of Romualdez and the President to return to the country, face the allegations against him and perform his duties as a lawmaker prompted his 60-day suspension by the ethics committee.
His stay outside the country despite his expired travel clearance is one of the reasons the House is running after him.
Act independently
However, regardless of the conditions, Topacio believes that the House, which has legislative authority, should act independently and should not be influenced by the executive branch.
“As far as I know, the legislature is an independent and co-equal branch of government. So why are the actions of the executive considered among the acts within the legislature?” he reiterated. “That’s one of the things we wonder about. Why is even the call of the President considered a disorderly conduct prompt on a member of the House of Representatives?”
Marcos has been pleading with Teves to return home, assuring him of tight security upon his arrival. The President’s most recent appeal came after Teves’s application for political asylum in Timor Leste was turned down.
Teves has been deemed absent for months now, which he vehemently claims is foul since he attends legislative proceedings via teleconference.
In late March, Teves was slapped a 60-day suspension after 292 of his peers voted in favor of a “disorderly conduct” sanction.
“What is disorderly conduct for being absent? Is it disorderly conduct that I didn’t obey to show up so I wouldn’t be killed? Just because the Speaker called for me to return home even though they have no right because I don’t have a case, is it disorderly conduct that I didn’t follow them? I can’t follow them so I won’t be killed,” Teves said in the same virtual briefing.
“I also don’t know why the Congress is getting involved in Bonjing’s (referring to Justice Secretary Boying Remulla) call and Abalos’s and the President’s calls for me to show up physically. I don’t have a warrant. I don’t have a case. Why do I need to appear physically?”
The ethics panel commenced on Monday its motu proprio probe into Teves’s continued unauthorized absence and discussed what sanctions to push on the plenary floor.
Earlier, Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon of the Ako Bicol Party, a panel member, said that according to House rules, Teves could face only two punishments: expulsion or any punishment the committee may impose.