Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves, Jr. was fired as congressman or member of the House of Representatives this Wednesday.
In the plenary poll, 265 voted in favor of firing Teves, three did not vote, and none objected.
The decision was based on the recommendation of the House Committee on Ethics headed by Coop-NATCCO party-list Representative Felimon Espares.
This follows Teves continuing to hide and no longer attend the assembly session. That is why the legislator is no longer able to fulfill his duty.
“The prolonged unauthorized absence of Rep. A. Teves Jr. deprives the 3rd District of Negros Oriental of proper representation and undermines the efficiency of the legislative process,” said the committee report.
“Instead of actively participating in deliberations on important legislative measures pending in the House, the representative refuses to return to the country and perform his duties as a House Member,” it added.
“All these actions of a legislative district representative weakens the institution’s effectiveness in serving the public and tarnishes the integrity and reputation of the House,” according to the committee report.
Before firing, the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez suspended Teves.
Last month, Teves was declared a “terrorist” by the Anti-Terrorism Council, along with 12 others.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) linked Teves to the incident of basing Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, and eight others in March.
Rep. Arnie Teves fired from Congress
Since then, Teves has not attended the Chamber session, denying several times that he had anything to do with what happened to Degamo.
Early this month, Teves and 12 other people have been declared terrorists by the Anti-terrorism Council (ATC), in response to multiple suspected killings and harassment in Negros Oriental.
ATC’s Resolution Number 43, which was approved on July 26, designated the following people as terrorists for allegedly breaking several Anti-Terrorism Act rules.
The Council listed their offenses as participating in terrorism, planning, training, preparing, and supporting terrorism, recruiting people to join terrorist organizations and giving them material support.
According to the ATC, the countless murders and harassments that occurred in Negros Oriental and led to Degamo’s murder should not be viewed as isolated instances of violence.
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