Court orders arrest of Teves’ brother over terror funding rap

DUMAGUETE CITY — A former governor of Negros Oriental and the younger brother of expelled Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. was released from the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Thursday afternoon shortly after he surrendered following the issuance of an arrest warrant by a Cebu court against him on Wednesday for allegedly financing a local terrorist group behind the numerous killings and harassment in the province.

Pryde Henry Teves posted in court here a total bail of P600,000 for charges involving three counts of violating Republic Act No. 10168, otherwise known as The Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, that was filed against him by the Anti-Terrorism Council, according to the CIDG.

READ: Pryde Teves arrested for financing terrorism, says DOJ

His release order was signed by Judge Gerardo Paguia Jr. of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Dumaguete City at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Pryde was not placed behind bars and waited at the CIDG office while his bail was immediately processed by his legal counsel, lawyer Ronel Depalubos.

Police Maj. Nazarino Emia, CIDG-Negros Oriental chief, said they secured an arrest warrant from Judge Marlon Jay Moneva of the Regional Trial Court Branch 74 in Cebu City on Wednesday to take Pryde into their custody.

However, they could not immediately locate the former governor. “Maybe, he (Pryde) knew someone was conducting a man-to-man operation to arrest him,” Emia told reporters.

Surprised

She said they were surprised when Pryde appeared at the CIDG headquarters in Negros Oriental on Thursday morning to surrender. “So we served the arrest warrant. He, however, managed to immediately post bail in court; that was why we released him,” Emia said.

Pryde won the gubernatorial race in Negros Oriental in the May 2022 elections.

However, his victory was nullified by the Commission on Elections after votes of nuisance candidate Grego Gaudia, who used the name “Ruel Degamo,” were annulled in favor of another gubernatorial candidate, Roel Degamo.

Pryde, who served as governor of Negros Oriental for just four months, stepped down from his post on Oct. 11, 2022, paving the way for Roel to assume the post.

On March 4, 2023, Roel was murdered by a group of heavily armed assailants who barged into his residential compound in Pamplona town while he was attending to the needs of his constituents. Nine other people were also killed during the attack.

Arnolfo was tagged as the alleged mastermind in the Degamo murder. He fled the country and was later expelled by the House of Representatives last year after failing to attend its sessions. Last March 21, Arnolfo was arrested by authorities while playing golf in Timor-Leste based on a red alert notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol.

Fight continues

Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, Roel’s widow, said she was happy that the arms of the law finally caught up with the Teves brothers.

“The arrest of Henry Teves earlier today is proof of our commitment to continue fighting for the rights of every Negrense,” she said in a statement on Thursday.

While the alleged offenses against Pryde were bailable, Janice said she expected many more charges to be filed against the unseated governor.

“I promise I will never give up fighting until every member of the TTG (Teves Terrorist Group) faces justice for what they did to my husband and our province,” the widow said.

READ: Teves extradition hearings over; ruling out by end-June

Janice, in an earlier interview, claimed that the so-called “TTG” has allegedly been involved in murders, land-grabbing, illegal gambling, harassment, and other illicit activity in Negros Oriental.

She believed there were more victims of violence at the hands of the group in the province.

“The governor (Roel) was just one of the many victims. I hope a lot of people will come to the open and tell their stories too,” she added.