Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. (Facebook)
Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. has raised the stakes between him and Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla, who he has been taunting the past few days in video messages on Facebook. In the latest video message posted Wednesday morning, June 7, Teves issued Remulla a challenge that would result to either the suspended congressman finally coming home or the Cabinet official resigning from his post. "Secretary Boying, seryoso na to ha...Hinahamon kita. Nagsabi ka di ba na nag-apply ako ng citizenship sa Timor. Ngayon, paano pag sinungaling yung sinabi mo? Resign ka. Kung totoo, uwi ako (Secretary Boying, this is serious now...I'm challenging you. You earlier said that I applied for citizenship on Timor, but what if you lied? You resign. But if that was true, I'll go home)," Teves said in the 70-second long video. "Will you take my challenge? That's my challenge to you, saski ang buong bansa at ang buong mundo (with the whole country and the whole world as my witness)," he said. To show his seriousness, Teves wore a blazer instead of the white sleeveless tank top that he usually wears in his videos. "Hindi ako naka-sleeveless, nag-damit nako nang matino para malaman ng lahat na pormal ito na hamon sayo (I'm not wearing a sleeveless shirt, I wore something formal so that everybody will know that this is a formal challenge to you)," the Visayas solon said. Teves--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. Considered absent without official leave by the House of Representatives, Teves was slapped with a second 60-day suspension by his congressman-colleagues last May 31. It was last month when the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) revealed that Teves sought political asylum in Timor-Leste, which is also located in Southeast Asia. His asylum request was rejected. Remulla has been the one providing updates on Teves' criminal case.