MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday issued a stern warning to Negros Oriental Rep. Arnie Teves, who is still out of the country.
Marcos said that Teves should return to the Philippines lest the government will be forced to “move without any discussions with him.”
“The only advice I can only give to Cong. Arnie is that habang tumatagal ito mas nagiging mahirap ang sitwasyon mo. Mas maaga kang makauwi, mas marami pang option ang mangyayari. Pero pagka masyado nang late, wala na, mapipilitan ang gobyerno, we will have to move without any discussions with him,” Marcos said in an ambush interview.
(My only advice to Cong. Teves is as time goes by, your situation will become harder. If you come home earlier, then there will be more options for you. But if you come back too late, then the government would be forced; we will have to move without any discussions with him.)
Teves has been linked to the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and eight provincial staff and constituents, after the suspects tagged him as the alleged mastermind in the governor’s killing.
READ: 5th suspect also links Teves to Degamo slay
Teves has denied having a hand in the incident.
The lawmaker has yet to return to the country despite his authority to travel to the United States being valid only from February 28 to March 9.
READ: Teves still no-show, defies House deadline
The lawmaker’s camp has also insisted several times that there was a threat to him and his family.
Marcos, meanwhile, reassured Teves that the government would provide all kinds of security for him.
“To reassure him, we will provide all kinds of security kung ano ang gusto mo. Mayaman ka naman, may private jet ka naman eh, maglanding ka kung saan mo gusto, sa air force base, maglanding siya sa basa, papaligiran natin ng sundalo, walang makakalapit ng isang kilometro that will guarantee his security,” Marcos said.
(To reassure him, we will provide all kinds of security, anything he wants. After all, he’s rich, and he has a private jet, so just land wherever you want to, even in the air force base, where he will be surrounded by soldiers. No one will be able to come near him, and it will guarantee his security.)
Not about e-sabong
Marcos also dismissed Teves’ claims that he was being tagged as the alleged mastermind due to his former e-sabong business.
Teves, in a Facebook post, claims: “Ang ibang naririnig ko lang naman na anggulo is yung sa e sabong. Meron daw mga ilang tao na gusto daw nilang masolo ang e-sabong kaya kinakana nila ako. Matagal ko nang sinabi, wala na ako dyan. Kung gusto nyo mag-negosyo ng e sabong mag negosyo kayo, wala naman pumipigil sa inyo eh. Ewan ko lang kung papayag si President BBM.”
(I have also heard another angle, which is the e-sabong. They said there are some people who want to have e-sabong for themselves, so they are targeting me. I said long ago that I am no longer involved there. If you want to have e-sabong as a business, then by all means, do so, no one’s stopping you. I just don’t know if President BBM would approve.)
Marcos, however, said all of the recent developments were due to the death of Degamo.
“Ang puno’t dulo nito ay e-sabong? Hindi. Ang puno’t dulo nito ay pagkapaslang kay Gov. Degamo,” he said.
(The cause of it all is e-sabong? No. This is due to the death of Governor Degamo.)
“Nagkaproblema na kami sa e-sabong noon, but that’s not what it’s about. Because noong nagkakaroon ng e-sabong doon, hindi naman natin ginawa ‘yung re-organization, hindi natin nilipat ‘yung mga pulis, hindi natin ipinasok ‘yung military dahil sa e-sabong,” the President added.
(We have had problems in e-sabong before, but that’s not what it’s about. Because when there were problems in e-sabong, we did not do the reorganization, we did not transfer the police or get the military involved due to e-sabong.)
“This is about the killing of Gov. Degamo. Pure and simple,” Marcos continued.
READ: Killings that showcase our insecurities