• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Expelled Negros Oriental lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. is now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) facility in the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, following his arrest and deportation from Timor Leste on Thursday (May 29).
Teves is facing multiple murder charges linked to the 2023 Pamplona killings that claimed the lives of then Governor Roel Degamo and nine others.
Negros Oriental third district representative-elect Janice Degamo, the widow of Degamo, said she wants marathon hearings for a faster trial of her predecessor.
In a media interview, Degamo stressed the need for marathon hearings, noting that it took 10 years for the court to render a decision on the Ampatuan massacre case in Maguindanao.
When he was presented by the National Bureau of Investigation to the media, Teves said he is also hoping for a speedy trial.
The former lawmaker said he is ready to face his accusers, insisting that his “conscience is clear”.
In a statement posted in her Facebook account, Degamo said said it is “appalling to hear (Atty. Ferdinand Topacio) continuously refer to Teves as a ‘trophy’ for the Marcos administration”.
“Let’s set the record straight, this is not about politics, this is about justice. Calling Arnie Teves a ‘trophy’ is a slap in the face of the families of the many innocent people killed by the Teves terrorist group, including my husband, Governor Roel Degamo. These weren’t political casualties, they were sons, daughters, husbands and wives, brutally taken from their loved ones,” she added.
“Instead of turning every issue into a political drama, Atty. Topacio should focus on what truly matters, explaining why at least two of the gunmen who murdered my husband directly named his client as the mastermind. That is what the people of Negros Oriental and the entire country deserve answers to. We will not be distracted. We will not be silenced. We will see this through,” Degamo said.
She added that the arrest of Teves is “a reminder that no one is above the law as it reaffirms the strength of international cooperation and collective pursuit of justice”. | GB
