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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House exec hopes ethics panel can address Teves case before adjournment

House exec hopes ethics panel can address Teves case before adjournment

Published May 17, 2023 04:12 am
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco (Contributed photo)


House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said he hopes the Committee on Ethics would be able to act on the case of the currently suspended Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. before the end of the first regular session early next month. Velasco, in a chance interview with House of Representatives reporters Wednesday morning, May 17, clarified that Teves' 60-day suspension will end on May 22. "We hope the Committee on Ethics will have some action on it. As you know, wala tayong precedent kasi dito, wala pang nangyari sa House na similar situation (we don't have a precedent on this, there has been no similar situation in the House before)," Velasco said. The House will adjourn sine die on June 2. This will mark the end of the first regular session of the ongoing 19th Congress. "So it's really up to the Committee on Ethics to submit their recommendations. And then it has to be voted upon by the plenary no. So we hope that by the end of this session, there will be some action on the part of the Committee on Ethics and the plenary of the House of Representatives," Velasco said. COOP-NATCCO Party-list Rep. Felimon Espares chairs the Committee on Ethics. The ethics panel was conducting a closed-door hearing at the time of Velasco's interview. The Espares panel was the one that recommended the 60-day suspension on Teves for what it called "disorderly behavior". The penalty was unanimously upheld via nominal vote in plenary last March 22. "Hopefully before the end of the session there will be some action. First, recommendation from the Committee on Ethics, then there will be voting sa plenary kung OK yung recommendations (there will be voting in the plenary if the recommendation is OK). "So in the end, it's really the whole membership that will decide what to do in the case of Congressman Arnie Teves Jr.," explained Velasco, who is the highest-ranked civilian in the House. The next harshest penalty that can be applied to Teves is expulsion. Teves, who is tagged as the mastermind of the March 4 assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, has been out of the country since Feb. 28. He has refused to come back home for fear of his life.

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reginald velasco roel degamo House of Representatives Rep. Arnolfo Teves Committee on Ethics
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