DOJ eyes Rep. Teves link to criminal group behind illegal activities in Negros Oriental

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Monday that suspended Negros Oriental Third District Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. may be linked to a “criminal organization” that is allegedly behind various illegal activities in the Visayan province.

Remulla said this organization is involved in “assassinations, illegal gambling and other illegal activities that are frowned upon by society and violate the law.”

Teves is being considered one of the masterminds in the March 4, 2023, assassination of the province’s governor Roel Degamo and 8 others, according to Remulla.

Remulla also said former Negros Oriental governor Pryde Henry Teves, the younger brother of the suspended lawmaker, might also be implicated in the Degamo case following the raid in his sugar mill over the weekend.

“I think they’re considered—they’re being considered as masterminds but I don’t know yet. I have to get into the panel of prosecutors. But right now, the way it’s progressing, that’s the direction we’re heading,” Remulla said, adding that that they were looking at 2 or 3 masterminds in Degamo’s slay.
 
Several high-powered firearms, ammunition, and explosives were recovered from former governor Teves’ 50-hectare compound in Barangay Caranoche, Santa Catalina town from Friday to Sunday.

Degamo’s camp said it will file a complaint against the suspended lawmaker for his alleged ownership of a small town lottery franchise and operation of e-sabong (cockfighting).

Teves has denied involvement in Degamo’s assassination, while his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio insists that his client, who has yet to return to the Philippines after a trip to the United States for medical reasons, is not hiding.

The House of Representatives suspended Teves for his refusal to return to the country after his travel authority expired on March 9.