House suspends Teves again over continued absence

MANILA, Philippines — Embattled Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Negros Oriental) will be suspended for another 60 days by the House of Representatives over his continued absence from the chamber as he insists on not coming back to the country over fears for his life.

The House suspended Teves Jr. again for 60 days with 285 affirmative votes and one abstain. The sanction also includes the forfeiture of Teves’ committee memberships due to his “misconduct” and attempt to seek asylum in Timor Leste.

JUST IN: The House again moves to suspend Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. for 60 days with 285 affirmative votes and one abstain. The sanction also includes the forfeiture of Teves’ committee memberships due to his “misconduct” and attempt to seek asylum in Timor Leste. @PhilstarNews

— Cristina Chi ???? (@chicristina_) May 31, 2023

The Ethics committee’s recommendation for Teves, which was adopted by the House, to be suspended again was carried by the plenary more than a week after the panel unanimously decided on a stiffer penalty for the lawmaker suspected to be the mastermind behind the massacre that killed Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo.

Teves is vice chair of the games and amusements committee and a member of the nuclear energy and legislative franchises committees.

The report said that the committee found that the unauthorized absences of Teves, “aggravated by his act of seeking political asylum in Timor-Leste, resulted in his failure to perform his duties as House Member.”

Teves' request for asylum was already rejected by the Timor-Leste government, although Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said earlier Wednesday that the suspended lawmaker is still in Timor-Leste.

Teves previously warned against continued absence from House

House Speaker Martin Romualdez warned earlier in May that if Teves continued to defy the return-to-work order after his 60-day suspension, the ethics panel may “consider another possible disciplinary action against him.”

The House slapped a 60-day suspension on Teves in late March after his failure to return to the Philippines and face the ethics committee in-person despite the expiration of his travel authority for the US on March 9.

Teves has insisted on not going back to the country, despite assurances from government officials—including President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.—that he will be protected.

The National Bureau of Investigation has filed criminal complaints against Teves over the massacre that killed 10 people, including Degamo—a political rival of the lawmaker’s family in Negros Oriental.

Teves now has the opportunity to file a counter-affidavit, but Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla stressed that this cannot be filed while the lawmaker is not in the country. Teves also cannot subscribe before Philippine embassies abroad, Remulla said.

The multiple murder, multiple frustrated murder and multiple attempted murder raps against Teves are the latest criminal complaints he is facing, as he was earlier accused of multiple murder over killings in 2019 and illegal possession of firearms and explosives. 

The process to designate him as a terrorist has also started.

But the tide seems to be turning in Teves’ favor, with five alleged gunmen turning back on their sworn statements against him, claiming that they were tortured into confessing. — with reports from Cristina Chi