Teves lawyer: Indictments stem from crab justice

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Negros Oriental Rep. Arnie Teves yesterday brushed aside his indictment for three counts of murder which happened in the province in 2019.

In a statement, Teves’ legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio said they were not suprised with this development, which he branded as “crab justice.”

Topacio noted he expected this from his clients’ “persecutors.”

“Unfortunately for these persecutors, crab justice does not prevail in our courts. We have all seen our share of  shadowy criminal cases fade into nothing in the cold light of truth presented before the courts,” he added.

Topacio said their “faith in our justice system (is) undimmed by the anomaly of a few men trenching upon the criminal justice system.”

“We shall continue to defend the rights of our client to the fullest extent, confident that God sees the truth, but waits. Retribution, divine or otherwise, is always part of the code of the universe,” he added.

Teves has been charged with the deaths of Michael Dungog, a former board member in the third district of Negros Oriental and a former agent of the National Bureau of Investigation; Lester Bato, bodyguard of Basay mayoral candidate Cliff Cordoval and alleged hitman Pacito Libron.

According to the Department of Justice, the indictments were based on the confession of Gemuel Hobro – one of the case respondents – who said he was part of a group hired by Teves to carry out the killings.

Hobro claimed that he was present during all three incidents.