The House Committee on Ethics and Privileges doesn't know where in the world Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. is. The panel held a meeting Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 1 to take jurisdiction once again on the case of Teves, whose second 60-day suspension from the House had just lapsed. The meeting included representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Bureau of Immigration (BI), which in theory could have an idea of the controversial solon's current location. "There is none," panel vice chairman, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon told House reporters when asked if there was any update on the meeting about Teves' whereabouts. What's clear according to Bongalon was that the former deputy speaker left the Philippines last Feb. 28 and had not come back. "The BiI told us that wala pong record as to his arrival on the country, and so far based on their record yung Feb. 28 na departure, yun po yung last niya (The BI told us that there's no record as to his arrival in the country and so far based on their record, the Feb. 28 departure was his last record)," he explained. The last confirmed location of Teves was Timor-Leste, where he tried to seek asylum in, at least according to the DFA. The Visayan has neither confirmed not denied this in his online press briefings. For a time, there were also persistent reports that he was in Cambodia. Teves has been tagged as the mastermind in the broad-daylight assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo. He has ignored calls from the House leadership to come back home, saying that doing so would endanger his life. ###
Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/1/no-update-on-teves-whereabouts-house-panel)
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