Bato's Senate panel to invite Teves to hearing into Degamo slay (Latest Sabong News)
Author
Xave Gregorio
Date
APRIL 04 2023
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate public order panel is set to conduct its first hearing on the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo in two weeks and its chairperson, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, is looking to invite the alleged mastermind of the murder: Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr.
Dela Rosa said in a text message shared to reporters that Teves will be invited to attend the Senate probe “whether physical or virtual.”
“We will be inviting him not as a resource person but as a member of the House whose name is being implicated in the issue at hand,” the senator said, noting that Teves has previously been invited and attended an inquiry on e-sabong or online cockfighting.
“But if he invokes interparliamentary courtesy this time around then we will afford him such courtesy,” Dela Rosa added.
In the past weeks, the Senate leadership has invoked interparliamentary courtesyto prevent Sen. Robinhood Padilla, who chairs the constitutional amendments panel, from inviting House members as resource persons to his hearings on Charter change.
Interparliamentary courtesy refers to the time-honored tradition accorded to each other by the House and the Senate which prevents them from meddling in each other’s affairs.
It remains to be seen what Teves’ response to this will be, although he failed to appear physically in hearings at the lower Chamber on his continued absence. The House rules committee eventually recommended his suspension from office for 60 days.
has reached out to Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, for further comment.
Dela Rosa said his panel’s investigation, which is scheduled to start on April 17, will “complement” the investigation of the Department of Justice, “but my committee will focus more on policy issues that may be fixed through legislation.”
Apart from Teves, Dela Rosa said his panel is also inviting Rep. Teves’ brother, former Gov. Henry Teves, arrested suspects in the killing of Degamo once court clearances are secured, Degamo’s widow, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, and the family of other victims in the massacre.
Government agencies that will be invited include the Philippine National Police, the DOJ, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Commission on Elections.
