By CESAR JOLITO III
Negros Oriental 3rd District Representative Janice Degamo said the recent acquittal of former Representative Arnolfo Teves, Jr. in a 2019 murder case is “painful and difficult to accept,” stressing that it does not absolve him of accountability in other pending cases, including the deadly Pamplona Massacre in 2023.
In a statement, Degamo, widow of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, emphasized that court proceedings linked to other killings in Dumaguete City in 2019, as well as the Pamplona attack, will continue despite the acquittal.
“Those proceedings will continue, and so does our pursuit for accountability,” Degamo said.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) likewise clarified that the acquittal of Teves in the 2019 murder of former Negros Oriental Board Member Miguel Lopez Dungog will not affect the charges filed against him in connection with the assassination of Governor Degamo in 2023.
“Justice is not always swift, and it is never easy. But I believe it will prevail — for my husband, for every victim, for every family left behind,” Degamo said.
“We will continue to hope, to endure and to fight for truth and justice,” she added.
Degamo also expressed solidarity with other victims of violence and injustice, vowing to continue advocating for accountability.
“Our pain is shared, our resolve is collective, and our voices will not be silenced by setbacks along the way,” the 3rd district representative added.
On Friday, January 16, a Manila court acquitted Teves and two co-accused in the Dungog murder case and ordered their release.
The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 15 acquitted Teves, Richard Cuadra and Rolando Pinili “for failure of the prosecution to establish a prima facie case.”
However, authorities confirmed that Teves will remain in detention as he faces multiple charges, including murder, frustrated murder, and illegal possession of firearms and explosives, before various courts in Metro Manila and Negros Oriental.
Teves is accused as the alleged mastermind of the Pamplona Massacre on March 4, 2023, which took place at the Degamo family property in Negros Oriental’s Pamplona town.
The attack claimed the lives of Governor Degamo and nine other individuals.
Ferdinand Topacio, Teves’ legal counsel, said the acquittal is a “vivid demonstration that the cases filed against Teves are nothing but harassment suits meant to persecute a political opponent.”
“We are fortunate, however, to have found a fair and impartial tribunal that has proven itself truly independent and impervious to political pressures,” Topacio said in a statement.
“It also shows how DOJ has been weaponized for the purpose of vexing the critics of government,” he added.
Teves and several associates have also been designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council and accused of orchestrating multiple killings and acts of harassment in Negros Oriental.
Teves has denied any hand in the murder of Degamo./CJ, WDJ