Teves a no-show despite House ultimatum

MANILA, Philippines — Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. failed to heed the 24-hour ultimatum of the ethics committee of the House of Representatives yesterday, prompting members of the panel to make a report and refer it to the plenary for final action.

Panel chairman Rep. Felimon Espares refused to divulge their recommendations, except to say it was a “unanimous” decision on the part of their 17 members, and that they will forward it to the House committee on rules for final approval.

“The continuing failure of Teves to appear before this panel leaves us with no choice but to wrap up our report without his defense. We will transmit this to the plenary for appropriate action,” he told House reporters in a short briefing.

“The ultimatum for him to personally appear before us had already lapsed,” he reiterated.

“The committee, however, is not at liberty to disclose its report pending our submission to the plenary. The report and recommendations will be discussed in the plenary,” Espares said, noting that today will be the last day of sessions as both Senate and Congress will go on a Lenten break from today until May 8.

“It’s up to the committee on rules to make the announcement. The ethics committee already made its decision,” he added, saying the rules panel may not uphold their recommendations, which is why they are keeping their report secret.

Rep. Rosanna Vergara of Nueva Ecija explained to journalists that Teves – who is reportedly in the US – is deemed “absent” since his Feb. 28 travel authority expired last March 9, and that he was not given any extension. “As far as this committee is concerned, he has not appeared,” she told newsmen.

Nevertheless, Espares said it would be best if Teves makes a personal appearance before the House plenary decides on his fate. “House rules state that a member whose travel authority was not extended are not allowed to join. Physical appearance is thus required.”

A House member hinted though that the recommendation was just a reprimand for Teves, implying that they have no choice but to follow procedures in light of the fact that this is just a violation or defiance that may be considered as a first offense.

This means that lawmakers cannot recommend either suspension or expulsion.

4 ex-soldiers surrender

Four former soldiers who were part of the team that carried out the deadly assault against Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo that also killed eight others have surrendered to authorities, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday, leaving at least three remaining participants at large.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the soldiers surrendered to the Army with the help of an active officer and are expected to be transported to Manila last night and turned over to the DOJ this morning.

The four ex-soldiers, he said, are “major players” in the conspiracy to kill Degamo.

Remulla said almost all of the people involved in the attack are now in custody except for one to three individuals. Including the four new surrenderees, the DOJ would have nine suspects in the Degamo case.

The Justice Secretary added that the surrendered individuals underwent debriefing, but only for military intelligence purposes.

“They arranged for their own surrender,” he said.

Meanwhile, Remulla also revealed that shortly after he learned of the recent surrender, Rep. Teves sent him a message for the first time on Monday.

Teves has been tagged by some of the suspects as the mastermind of the attack but has repeatedly denied involvement.

Remulla  made it clear that he will only speak to Teves in front of other people to avoid any misinterpretation of his words.

“I received a text message from him (Teves) yesterday and I don’t want to speak to somebody without another person present because I don’t want words to be twisted, so if I talked to him, it would be in front of other people,” he said, stressing that he hasn’t returned communication with the congressman.

“He wants to talk to me but I haven’t given an answer. I don’t know if he’s already here. I saw the message after I saw the other message that the four surrendered. I don’t want to be distracted. First, I want to focus on the surrender, what happened… and that the whole team that attacked Gov. Degamo is accounted for,” he added.

Allegations

The Philippine National Police (PNP) denied that police officers forced a private secretary of Rep. Teves Jr. testify against the lawmaker for the murder of Degamo.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo yesterday belied the allegations of Hannah Mae Oray that Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives threatened her with detention if she will not pin down Teves in the killing of Degamo.

“It has never been the practice of the PNP to force a person to implicate an individual,” Fajardo told reporters in an interview.

Oray filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) against members of the CIDG over her alleged ordeal after she and her husband were arrested during the raids on Teves’ properties.

Refuting her allegations, Fajardo said Oray’s rights were observed while she was in police custody.

Fajardo said Oray’s lawyers and siblings were allowed to visit her in detention.

“There was no moment or instance that the CIDG hurt or forced her to implicate particularly Cong. Teves,” Fajardo said.

Fajardo said Oray should file charges so the CIDG can answer the allegations in the proper forum.

Gov’t assistance

The government has provided educational, livelihood and medical assistance to families of victims affected by the shooting that claimed the lives of Degamo and eight others, Malacañang said yesterday.

In a Facebook post, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the administration has given educational assistance to seven high school and college students.

It has also provided employment assistance to seven individuals in the areas of hospitality management, education and social sciences, and a livelihood package or retail store.

The Office of the Vice President has extended P40,000 worth of burial assistance, P140,000 worth of hospitalization assistance and P50,000 worth of cash aid to victims of the shooting incident. It has also shouldered P160,000 worth of hospital bills of people who were injured during the attack.

The social welfare department has also provided P70,000 worth of burial assistance, P110,000 in cash aid, 19 food packs, P70,000 worth of food assistance and P43,740 worth of medical assistance to affected families.

“The Marcos-Duterte administration provided immediate assistance to the victims of the shooting in Negros Oriental on March 4, 2023,” the PCO said.

“The government ensured that the families of those who were wounded and those who were killed in the tragedy are supported by providing them educational, employment and livelihood assistance, food packs, cash aid and other forms of support,” it added.

President Marcos has vowed to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack, which he described as “terrifying” and “entirely unacceptable.”

He has also ordered authorities to identify “hot spots” and to conduct a crackdown on private armies and illegal firearms. – Neil Jayson Servallos, Emmanuel Tupas, Alexis Romero