MANILA — Suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. on Wednesday denied reports that he will return to the Philippines.
This came after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday, citing information coming from a reliable source, said that Teves is set to return to the country on Wednesday.
“Fake news. Dapat tinanong muna nila ako bago sila nag salita sa mga desisyon ko ‘di ba?” said Teves in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas.
According to Remulla, Teves would likely be coming from Timor Leste, where his request for asylum was denied.
When asked whether or not he did seek asylum, Teves merely deferred back to Remulla in jest.
“Tanungin mo si Boying, alam niya siguro ‘yon, mas marami siyang alam sa’kin,” said Teves.
To recall, suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. is being tagged as the “mastermind” behind the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and eight others — also known as the “Pamplona massacre” — which the congressman has repeatedly denied since.
Multiple murder complaints are then expected to be filed against the suspended lawmaker.
On Wednesday, Remulla said he received the information about the representative’s homecoming from a reliable source with knowledge about arrivals and departures in the country, which was why he was confident about its credibility.
“[Teves] can be in Timor-Leste or another country, but I think it will be Timor-Leste. I think that the countries [through] which he can enter are already very limited considering that he’s already on Interpol notice and it’s already known in [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] that he’s a subject of designation as a terrorist. So things have become more difficult, I suppose,” he said.
Teves earlier applied for asylum in Timor-Leste, although his request was turned down. He has been tagged as the primary suspect in the March 4 assassination of Degamo and eight others.
At the time of the killing, Teves was out of the country after going on medical leave in February. He has since refused to come home, citing threats to his life, prompting the House of Representatives to suspend him for 60 days for “disorderly behavior.”
Remulla, meanwhile, earlier said that several of the witnesses who originally surrendered and gave their testimonies during the initial investigation had since become “uncooperative” after being given private lawyers and recanted their testimonies.
He insisted, however, that this development would not affect the case against Teves. (Zacarian Sarao, Jacob Lazaro © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
