MANILA, Philippines — Explosives and more firearms have been unearthed from the sugar mill compound owned by former Negros Oriental governor Pryde Henry Teves, police confirmed yesterday.
In a phone interview with The STAR, Lt. Col. Marissa Bruno, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) public information office chief, said the police operation within the Teves sugar mill compound that started Friday morning, continued until Sunday morning.
“Initially, there were ammunition and firearms that were seized on Saturday night,” Bruno, speaking in Filipino, said. “There were also explosives dug up, but we are not yet sure if these are whole.”
As of late yesterday afternoon, ground operatives were still conducting an inventory of the items found.
“Our search has been very thorough and we are digging up the compound. We are already using a backhoe to fully recover what was hidden,” Bruno said.
“The compound is really big, which is why the operations have been ongoing since Friday,” she added.
Earlier, the CIDG confirmed that a search warrant was issued to cover the police operation at the HDJ Tolong Compound in Sta. Catalino, Negros Oriental. Named in the warrant was Teves, the president of HDJ agri-ventures corporation.
Initially reported to have been seized from the property were six rifles of various calibers, nine pistols of various calibers, 9,615 rounds of live ammunition, 207 spent shells of different calibers, 45 pieces of steel and plastic magazines of different calibers, an assortment of firearms accessories and about P18 million in cash.
Authorities also arrested three individuals identified by the CIDG as Nigel Electrona, Jeson Timtim and Dionilio Mayagma Jr.
Bruno said the former governor, the brother of suspended Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., was not in the area during the raid of his sugar mill compound.
Asked about reports that link the arms cache to local communist terrorists, Bruno said she could not confirm that angle as of yesterday.
What about expulsion?
Not wanting to preempt how the House of Representatives may vote in the future, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon stopped short of saying whether or not the 60-day suspension imposed on Rep. Teves could effectively lead to his expulsion from Congress.
“We still don’t know what will happen. We’ll see. We’ll cross the bridge when we get there,” Bongalon told the weeknight program “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News and TV5 channels.
While Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, widow of slain Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, has been vocal about her desire for the House to expel Teves from their ranks, Bongalon reassured the public that due process will always be observed by the House leadership.
Last week, House Secretary-General Reginald Velasco told reporters they have already sent Teves a copy of his two-month suspension, which is part of the due process protocol in the chamber, and that they are now in the process of reviewing the complaint of Degamo’s wife.
A total of 292 House members voted last week to suspend Teves, who repeatedly refused to come home despite persistent calls from Speaker Martin Romualdez to return since his Feb. 28 travel authority had already lapsed last March 9.
“It was because his travel authority had expired, aside from his continuing refusal to heed the Speaker’s order. It was a defiance of a lawful order,” Bongalon, a member of the ethics panel headed by Rep. Felimon Espares of party-list COOP-NATCO, said.
“His stay outside of the Philippines is unauthorized already, that is why he can no longer participate in the plenary sessions and committee hearings,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bongalon refuted insinuations that the House action against Teves is related to his being implicated in the March 4 attack on Degamo’s residence that resulted in his death and the killing of eight other people.
In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Teves slammed his House colleagues for insisting on his physical attendance at a panel hearing and setting aside his request for a virtual meeting given the “serious threats” to his life.
But Bongalon, in defense of the 292-0 vote to suspend Teves, said the House decision was mainly due to the fact that the embattled congressman’s continued defiance “warranted a penalty of suspension.”
“The Speaker and the House leadership already assured him that he will be given security once he comes come, but despite all that there was still a continuing defiance on his part,” he explained.
He also belied speculations that lawmakers might have been motivated by the remarks made by President Marcos, who called on Teves to come home immediately and face the charges against him, or the situation might just turn for the worse once indictments are made. – Delon Porcalla