BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnie Teves broke his silence over the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo who was killed along with eight others while he was consulting with constituents in his own home in Pamplona town.
Teves, in a video message sent from the US and speaking in Filipino, said somebody is trying to implicate him in Degamo’s murder.
“This is what I feared, that I will be blamed for what happened,” he said, pointing out somebody is trying to pin the blame on him over the daylight attack on the governor last 4 March 2023, which left nine killed and 16 wounded.
“You know who you are,” he said, adding, “Don’t make me an instrument for you to be famous.”
Teves apologized for the delay in his statement, saying that he is currently in the US for a stem cell procedure.
He also said that he does not have any strong motive to have the governor killed since neither he nor his brother Henry Pryde, whom he described as the “real winner” in 2022 polls, can stand to benefit from Degamo’s death as under the rule of succession, it is the vice-governor who will take over the reins should the governor die.
He further called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to quickly resolve all crimes and murder cases and not just the ones involving his allies.
Teves noted the swift way with which the suspects were apprehended, as he doubts that anybody who are as efficient and professional as the killers in the video would not have been apprehended as easily.
He also observed that there was very little resistance from those manning the gates when the shooters entered, indicating that the guards knew them.
Teves also observed that even the dog did not bark at the assailants and was in fact shown wagging its tail, indicating that the dog knew the shooters.
He also assured that he had ordered somebody to secure his firearms so he can surrender these to authorities.
At the same time, he also asked the President to restore his gun licenses so “for my own protection”.
“This incident is unpleasant (hindi kanais-nais), and is not good for progress,” he added as he reiterated calls for resolution of all cases not just the Degamo killing.
