Senate disallows virtual testimony; Teves in South Korea?

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate committee on public order yesterday rejected the virtual presence of Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. to air his side on the murder of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, raising legal and jurisdiction issues.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, chairman of the committee, said panel members unanimously decided not to allow Teves, whose whereabouts remain unknown, to testify virtually. He, however, clarified that they will be waiting for Teves to show up in person.

“If he wants to come here, basically, then by all means we will listen to everything he wants to say. In the spirit of fairness, this committee would not like to be misconstrued as one-sided. We want to open up legal avenues to hear all sides,” Dela Rosa said.

While Dela Rosa said he could not ascertain Teves’ physical location, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva disclosed that Teves was spotted by his friends who were also billeted in a hotel in South Korea.

In turning down the virtual attendance of Teves at yesterday’s committee hearing, Dela Rosa cited possible legal issues as to the taking of oath as a basic requirement in testimonies of any resource person or witness.

Recognizing Teves to be outside Philippine jurisdiction, Sen. Francis Tolentino said a Supreme Court circular provided that video conferencing be done inside the premises of Philippine embassies, noting the Philippines has Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Germany, Macau, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Switzerland, France and Indonesia.

While the location of Teves remains unknown, his brother, former governor Pryde Henry Teves, was present at the Senate, along with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and Commission on Elections Chairman George Erwin Garcia and around 200 other resource persons.

Zoom briefing

Rejected from giving virtual testimony at the Senate, Rep. Teves instead held a press briefing via Zoom, his first since being tagged as the brains in the killing of Degamo and eight others.

Teves laughed off Remulla’s plan to designate him as a terrorist, saying everything is “becoming a circus.”

“I want to laugh. It’s becoming a fair. It’s becoming a circus. How can you be a terrorist if no charges have been filed against you?” he said.

Teves reiterated that he has been named as mastermind in Degamo’s death even without proper investigation.

Teves said he did not volunteer himself to attend the proceeding, but was invited by Dela Rosa. “I did not request to be included in the hearing. They invited me and they said that Zoom is allowed,” he pointed out.

Teves added that Dela Rosa informed him that they could secure his safety should he come to the Senate but the Negros congressman does not believe it.

“The threat to my life is true. I don’t know why I have to go to Senate … Degamo has Army and policeman as his security but he is now dead. How can you say you can secure my life,” he maintained.

The lawmaker gave assurance that he will come back to the Philippines when he “feels safe.”

Teves a terrorist?

Because the brazen killing of Degamo has the hallmark of terrorism, the government may need to designate and proscribe Teves as a terrorist, Remulla said yesterday during the Senate committee on public order hearing.

“In this case, the activities that led to the killing on March 4 are all covered under the Anti-Terror Law (ATL). The recruitment, the financing, the purchase of firearms, the distribution of firearms, everything that transpired actually has the hallmark of terrorism,” Remulla said, while admitting that a terrorism case would be harder to pursue.

“As a solution to the impasse here about the surrender of Mr. Teves, we are looking at designating him or proscribing him as a terrorist, to have him proscribed by the Court of Appeals and designated by the Anti Terrorism Council because of the acts that happened. As far as Mr. Teves is concerned … we may need for him to be designated and proscribed,” he said.

Abalos agreed that the ATL is applicable to the Degamo case. “The ATL law is appropriate here. I 100 percent agree with Sen. Villanueva,” he said.

Teves’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said the anti-terrorism act is being “weaponized” by Remulla to “wield his newfound power.”

“If he is power tripping, we cannot stop him … (But) the Anti-Terrorism Act has its particular purpose as the name implies – anti-terrorism. What is terrorism here?” Topacio said in a virtual briefing.

Topacio said the law stipulates that the crimes considered as terrorist act appear to be “common crimes” and should be in relation to sowing fear, panic among people, etc. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Artemio Dumlao, Sheila Crisostomo