Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr.

Senators on Monday, April 17, rejected an appeal from Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo Teves to appear virtually before the Senate Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Committee on its first public hearing on the March 4 assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.

Thus, revealed Senator Ronald ‘’Bato’’ dela Rosa, committee chairman, after a closed-door discussion with committee members before the Senate hearing with ranking government officials started at 10:20 a.m. Monday.

Some of the officials present was Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Deparment of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos.

Abalos assured Dela Rosa that he would secure the safety of Teves should he decide to return to the Philippines and personally appear before the Senate committee.

Dela Rosa said Teves should not fear being arrested in the Philippines since Remulla testified that the DOJ has no warrant for his arrest.

Where is Teves?

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva told the committee that his friends had told him that they saw Teves eating at Lotte Hotel in South Korea about two days ago.

After the killing of Degamo, House leaders asked Teves to return to the Philippines from the United States (US) where he had a medical problem attended to. The solon left the country last Feb. 28 and was supposed to be back home on March 9, as per the travel clearance issued to him by the House of Representatives.

He was reportedly holed up in Cambodia several days ago.

Senator Francis ‘’Tol’ Tolentino told his colleagues that the Supreme Court (SC) has issued a ruling that a person could testify before a committee hearing in Philippine embassies or consulates where his oath would be taken so that his constitutional right is respected.

He said a military attache could enforce a committee order placing him in contempt.

Meanwhile, Senator Ramon ‘’Bong’’ Revilla Jr, said the Degamo killing is a ‘’an affront to our democracy".

‘’We can only wish that this is only a bad dream and everything will be alright when we wake up. But we have to face the truth that our loved ones are lost forever," Dela Rosa said.

‘’When the news came out that Governor Degamo, along with several civilians, had been mercilessly gunned down while he was in the middle of distributing provisions to his constituents, it came as a cruel shock to all of us. He was killed in the line of duty—serving the people,’’ he pointed out.

‘’The spate of killings of several other political leaders and local government officials months prior, should have served as a warning to Governor Degamo to hide and fear for his own life. But he didn’t. He continued his life of public service until his last breath,’’ he added.