Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. assured a Senate panel Monday that he would guarantee the safety of suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., if he returns to the country to face murder charges filed against him.
“I will watch over [Teves] myself. I assure you that 100 percent,” Abalos said.
During Monday’s Senate hearing on the case, Senator Ronald Dela Rosa asked Abalos if he is ready to take accountability for ensuring Teves’ safety, the DILG chief replied “yes.”
The Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs earlier did not allow Teves — who has also been tagged as the mastermind behind the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo — to attend the hearing virtually.
As the head of the Special Task Force Degamo, Abalos also assured the Senate that the task force will soon reach the end of the investigation of the case.
“The task force is now approaching the final phase of its investigation. All the evidence is still being confirmed for the filing of criminal charges against the rest of the suspects including the suspected mastermind,” he said.
“We will not stop until the last perpetrator is caught, imprisoned, and tried to the full extent of the law. This is the only way to restore normalcy to the lives of ordinary citizens and maintain order, security, and lasting peace in Negros Oriental,” Abalos added.
Abalos credited the police, the military, and the National Bureau of Investigation for their efficiency.
“You saw how quickly those involved in this crime were caught. I am grateful for the strength and unity of the police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation,” Abalos said.
On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said there was nothing funny about the deaths of Degamo and eight other people.
“There is nothing funny about nine people getting killed,” Remulla said in a message to the media.
He said people were living in fear as long as Teves was not in legal custody.
Remulla was reacting to Teves’ statement that he found it funny that he might be tagged a terrorist to force him to surrender.
Remulla earlier said the Justice Department will seek to designate and proscribe Teves as a terrorist to pressure him into surrendering.
Also on Tuesday, Mayor Janice Degamo, the governor’s widow, alleged that Teves and his brother Pryde Henry were getting their money from illegal online cockfighting and small town lottery (STL) operations.
The mayor made these allegations at the continuation of the Senate hearing into the assassination of her husband.
“We are faced with a giant opponent [with] money fueled by e-sabong, fueled by STL, fueled by maybe illegal drugs,” Degamo told the Senate panel.
Henry Teves, who was present at the hearing, dismissed the allegations.
“Definitely, I’m not involved in any gaming or numbers games. In fact, I already gave a waiver to my bank secrecy and all my assets,” Pryde Teves said.
Arnie Teves, who is out of the country and refuses to return, has denied involvement in the killing of Degamo and appealed for fairness.
Dela Rosa, meanwhile, denied that he was biased in favor of Teves or that he was on the fugitive lawmaker’s payroll.
“They say Teves bought me off. No one can buy me, no matter how wealthy they are,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino.
Dela Rosa said social media posts circulating in Negros Oriental claim that his wife is related to the Teves clan.
“My wife has an aunt, a cousin on her mother’s side, who is married to a Teves in Dumaguete, but is not in any way related to Arnie Teves,” the senator said. With Rey Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta
