Cong. Arnie Teves could be possibly expelled from the House—Atty. Roque

Cong. Arnie Teves could be possibly expelled from the House—Atty. Roque

ACCORDING to former Presidential spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque, there is a significant possibility that Negros Oriental 3rd District Representative Arnolfo Teves, Jr. may be expelled from the House of Representatives.

This comes after he was declared a terrorist by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), along with 12 others.

Teves’ group is alleged to have violated sections 4, 6, 10, and 12 of the Anti-Terrorism Act due to a series of killings and harassment against residents in Negros Oriental.

“Now, Congressman Teves is the first-ever congressman to be labeled a terrorist, and I believe that one of the possible outcomes in the next few days is that the House Ethics Committee will use this to recommend his complete removal from Congress. Why? Because it’s the first time a congressman has been labeled a terrorist, and it can tarnish the image of Congress itself. This could be considered conduct unbecoming of congressmen for being labeled a terrorist, which could be the legal basis for Congressman Teves’ expulsion,” Atty. Harry Roque said.

The designation as a terrorist for Cong. Teves coincides with the end of his 60-day suspension issued on May 31 by the House.

Teves, accused of masterminding the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, was given two consecutive 60-day suspensions for disobeying the committee’s order to return to the country and testify before the House of Representatives.

House Committee on Ethics and Privileges continues its investigation on Cong. Arnie Teves’ case.

According to Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, they are still investigating what the committee’s next recommendation will be regarding Cong. Teves’ case.

“We’re not yet in the discussion as to the penalty that can be recommended by the Committee in Ethics, but again there will be a continuing investigation as to the case being faced by Arnie Teves, Jr.,” Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, Vice Chairman, House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, said.

Manila, 6th District Congressman Bienvenido Abante, Jr., a member of the Ethics Committee, emphasized that if Teves still wishes to participate in the hearings through video conference, he must personally request permission from the House Speaker or the Secretary General.

“We are doing everything we can to let our people realize that this is not railroading, that this is not something we want to forget because we are also affected here. So we really would like to be very objective in our decision. We don’t want to hurt a member of the House without having the right motive for what we’re going to do. We’d like to really exhaust all means to have a strong basis for whatever recommendations we’re going to make in the future,” Cong. Bienvenido Abante, Jr., Member, House Committee on Ethics and Privileges said.

Teves has requested to participate in the hearings through video conference, citing threats to his family and himself as the reason for not appearing physically in the House.

Currently, Teves’ camp is considering seeking removal from the terrorist list of the Anti-Terrorism Council.

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