JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Friday, August 11, 2023, that they have found sufficient evidence to file murder charges against embattled Negros Oriental Third District Representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. and several others in relation to the killings of three individuals in the province in 2019.
Aside from Teves, named as respondents were his secretary Hannah Mae Sumerano, Gemuel Hobro, Richard “Boy” Cuadra, Jasper “Bobong” Tanasan, Alex Mayagma and Rolando Pinili.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed three murder complaints against Teves and the said individuals in March.
Remulla said “there’s a lot of evidence gathered” implicating the respondents to the killing of Miguel Dungog, a former board member of Negros Oriental; Lester “Tom-Tom” Bato; and Pacito Libron.
Dungog, who is also the former president of the Philippine Councilor’s League in Negros Oriental, was gunned down in the compound of the Siliman University Medical Center on March 25, 2019.
Bato was killed on May 26, 2019 in Sitio Labugon in Barangay Nagbo-alao, Basay, Negros Oriental, while Libron in Barangay Malabugas, Bayawan City on June 23 of the same year.
Remulla said charges will be filed before the Regional Trial Court in Manila.
The DOJ said in a statement that Hobro issued an extrajudicial confession admitting his involvement in the three murder incidents along with Teves’ “armed group.”
Hobro is seeking to be placed under the witness protection program after affirming his testimony during the preliminary investigation in May.
“The complainants bolster their case against the respondents by presenting various pieces of evidence, including death certificates of the victims, affidavits from police investigators, and statements from the victims' heirs,” the DOJ said.
“The credibility and constitutionally sound execution of Hobro's testimony further substantiate the case. His connections to Congressman Teves and the correspondents are firmly established through evidence, confirming the political and personal motivations behind the murders,” it added.
The DOJ said Teves and Sumerano filed their respective motions to dismiss the complaints against them through their legal counsel.
Teves was also tagged as the brains behind the brazen killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo in March, which also resulted in the death of 10 innocent civilians.
The lawmaker, who refused to return to the country, along with his brother Henry Pryde and several others were earlier declared by the Anti-Terrorism Council as terrorists, which resulted in the freezing of their assets. (SunStar Philippines)