By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
An additional 28 murder charges were filed against expelled Negros Oriental Congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr., the Department of Justice (DOJ) said over the weekend.
During a news forum on Saturday, August 26, Justice Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said 14 counts of frustrated murder, 10 counts of murder, and four counts of attempted murder had been filed against Teves before the Manila Regional Trial Court.
Teves now faces a total of 31 cases, after three murder charges were filed at the Bayawan City Regional Trial Court in Negros Oriental, over the death of three individuals in 2019.
In a separate interview over Super Radyo dzBB, Clavano said the additional charges were in relation to the murder of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and nine others in March.
Clavano said they are now waiting for the warrant of arrest to be issued against Teves.
The cases involved the killings of former Negros Oriental Board Member Michael Dungog; Lester Bato, the bodyguard for Basay town mayoralty-bet Cliff Cordoval; and Pacito Libron, who was allegedly working as a gun-for-hire in 2019.
However, Clavano said they are actively seeking to transfer the 2019 murder cases to Manila to centralize proceedings.
On March 4, Degamo and nine individuals were killed in an attack at the governor’s residential compound in Negros Oriental’s Pamplona town.
Four other individuals were also charged over Degamo’s murder.
They were identified as Captain Lloyd Garcia II, the alleged chopper pilot; Nigel Electona, who was also designated as a terrorist by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) along with Teves; Angelo Palagtiw; and a certain “Gee Ann.”
Teves and his armed supporters were tagged as terrorists by the ATC.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council immediately freezed Teves’ assets and bank deposits.
Earlier, Teves was also expelled in the House of Representatives for “disorderly behavior and for violating the code of conduct of the House.”
The expelled congressman has already denied allegations that he was part of any armed groups that sow fear in Negros Oriental.
Teves dismissed his designation as a “political persecution.”
He also mulls to challenge his expulsion in court./DGB, WDJ