3 days ago
7
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Former congressman Arnolfo Teves (C), a murder suspect, is escorted by East Timorese security personnel for deportation to his home country at Presidente Nicolau Lobato airport in Dili on May 29, 2025.
AFP / Valentino Dariell De Sousa
MANILA, Philippines — Expelled lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. will not be given preferential treatment or allowed hospital arrest, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.
In a statement on Wednesday, July 2, Remulla said Teves had been cleared for discharge by the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), confirming that the former lawmaker is fit for incarceration.
The DILG chief emphasized that Teves will be treated like any other person deprived of liberty (PDL) and will not receive any special privileges inside the jail facility.
Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, confirmed his discharge from PGH and said the former lawmaker was to be transferred to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Annex 2 at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1.
Topacio noted that Teves is still experiencing moderate stomach pains and will request a follow-up checkup with his PGH doctors, to be conducted at the BJMP Annex 2 facility one week from now.
The expelled lawmaker was first rushed to a public hospital on June 17 due to severe stomach pains and was later transferred to another hospital for an appendectomy.
According to Topacio, post-operative complications required Teves to be placed on “powerful painkillers” and intubated.
Topacio also said that due to the former lawmaker’s condition, the court allowed him to attend one of his hearings via video conferencing.
Cases of Teves. Teves is currently in detention, facing numerous charges stemming from killings in Negros Oriental, most notably accusations that he orchestrated the assassination of Gov. Roel Degamo in 2023.
During his arraignment for some of these cases in Manila courts, he declined to enter a plea, prompting the court to automatically record a "not guilty" plea on his behalf.
The charges are as follows:
- 10 counts of murder at Manila RTC Branch 51
- 13 counts of frustrated murder at Manila RTC Branch 51
- 4 counts of attempted murder at Manila RTC Branch 51
- 1 case of murder at Manila RTC Branch 12
- 1 case of murder at Manila RTC Branch 15
- 1 case of murder at Bayawan RTC Branch 63
- Illegal possession of firearms and explosives at Manila RTC Branch 12
- Multiple cases under the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act at Quezon City RTC Branch 77
