ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ex-Rep Arnie Teves acquitted of murder charge on death of ex-NBI agent

Ex-Rep Arnie Teves acquitted of murder charge on death of ex-NBI agent

Published Jan 16, 2026 05:02 pm
Former Negros Oriental 3rd District representative Arnolfo “Arnie” A. Teves Jr. and two of his co-accused have been acquitted in the 2019 murder of a former agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The office of Judge Eduardo Ramon R. Reyes of Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 on Friday, Jan. 16, confirmed that Teves and his co-accused were cleared of murder charges for the death of former NBI agent Michael Dungoy, also a former provincial board member of Negros Oriental.
A complete copy of the trial court’s decision was not available as of posting time.
In an order issued last Jan. 5, the Manila RTC granted the demurrers to evidence filed by Teves and his co-accused Richard Cuadra and Rolando Pinili.
A demurrer to evidence is a pleading filed by an accused in a criminal case seeking the dismissal of the charge on lack of evidence presented by the prosecution
If the filing of the demurrer is allowed by court and it is granted, the accused is acquitted of the criminal charge.
The trial court ruled that “the prosecution’s evidence is legally insufficient to sustain a conviction even if left unrebutted, the court is duty-bound to grant the demurrer to evidence.”
“To require the accused to present evidence under these circumstances would amount to an impermissible shifting of the burden of proof and a violation of the constitutional presumption of innocence,” the order also stated.
In a statement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it has not yet received an official copy of the RTC order.
“However, even assuming that Teves was acquitted in the Dungog case, he will not be released because he remains lawfully detained by virtue of his other pending criminal cases,” the DOJ also said.
“These include multiple murder charges currently pending before the Regional Trial Courts of Manila, including the high-profile cases related to the assassination of the late Governor Roel Degamo,” it added.
It also said that once it receives a copy of the order, the DOJ “will immediately act upon the ruling and avail itself of all appropriate legal remedies available under the law.”
Teves is still facing murder charges before the Manila RTC over the 2019 killings of Lester Bato, a body guard of Basay mayoralty candidate Cliff Cordova; and Pacito Libron, an alleged hitman associated with Teves.
The former congressman is also facing 10 counts of murder, 13 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder in connection with the March 4, 2024 shootings in Pamplona, Negros Oriental that resulted in the death of governor Degamo.
Meanwhile, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, the legal counsel of Teves, expressed elation over the acquittal of the former congressman.
“The acquittal of former Congressman Arnolfo Teves of the crime of murder by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 15 of Manila is a vivid demonstration that the cases filed against Mr. Teves are nothing but harassment suits meant to persecute a political opponent,” said Topacio in a statement.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.