House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left), and Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. (Speaker’s office, Facebook)
It's nothing personal. House Speaker Martin Romualdez stressed this message Wednesday night, May 31 after the chamber handed down a second 60-day suspension on Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. for "disorderly behavior". “Hindi ko papayagan na sirain ninuman ang integridad ng Kongreso. Walang personalan dito. Ginagawa lamang natin ang sinumpaan nating tungkulin at pangako sa sambayanan (I will not allow anyone to ruin the integrity of the House. Nothing personal here. We're just carrying out our sworn duty and our promise to the nation), Romualdez said in his closing speech before the plenary. Wednesday was the last session date of the first regular. 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. But Romualdez said the defiant Teves must to face the murder charges filed against him. “I would like to reiterate that as members of this House, we must be accountable to the people at all times and perform our legislative mandate with utmost competence, efficiency, effectiveness, integrity, and fidelity to the people’s welfare - nothing less. Let this be a reminder to all of us,” he declared. The Speaker also reminded that as congressmen, they are all duty-bound to comply with their “code of conduct, where they shall act at allvtimes in a manner that reflects creditably on the House". The Leyte 1st district congressman added that the solons should "adhere to the spirit and the letter of the Rules of the House and the Rules of the Committees". The new suspension order against Teves came with the additional penalty of being removed from all of his committee designations. Teves was first slapped with a 60-day suspension for disorderly behavior on March 22. This penalty lapsed on May 22. The penalties against the Visayas solon were based on the recommendations of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges chaired by COOP-NATCCO Party-list Rep. Felimon Espares. The panel recommendations had to be approved by plenary first before they could be imposed.