Teves, 5 others charged for 2019 murders

MANILA, Philippines — Murder complaints have been filed by the police before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. and five others over three killings in the province in 2019.

Officers of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) filed three counts of murder against Teves and his secretary identified as Hannah Mae, while three others are facing at least two counts and another with one count.

The other suspects were identified as Richard Cuadra, Jasper Tanasan, Rolando Pinili and Alex Mayagma.

“The family (of the victims) and the CIDG filed multiple murder cases against Congressman Arnolfo Teves for killings that were perpetrated way back in 2019. The witnesses are people who were involved in the murder. These are the assassination teams and they executed the affidavit,” lawyer Levito Baligod told reporters on Tuesday.

Baligod, who represents the families of the murder victims who are also complainants in the case, said the cases involve Miguel Dungog, who was killed on March 25 in front of Silliman Medical Center in Dumaguete City.

Dungog, a former agent of the National Bureau of Investigation, was running for board member in the May 2019 elections and was allied with Degamo.

The other two victims were Lester Pialago Bato who was killed on May 26 at Barangay Nagbo-alao in Basay, and Pacito Retes Libron who was killed June 23 in Barangay Malabugas in Bayawan City.

Baligod said the witnesses allege that they were summoned by Teves and gave them instructions to “assassinate” the victims.

“So, when I asked what gun was used, what time, what the victim was wearing, they were able to answer. So, I was convinced of the credibility of these witnesses. That’s why I helped the families file the complaint with the CIDG,” he said.

Baligod said he expects more charges to be filed as there were at least 12 murders committed from 2018 to 2019 involving just one group of hired gunmen.