MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP CIDG) conducted a raid on Friday, March 10 in some properties of Negros Oriental Third District Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. over firearms with allegedly fake documents.

In an interview with radio DZBB, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos confirmed the search was ongoing on Friday morning. PNP Public Information Office chief Colonel Redrico Maranan also confirmed the operation.

Not all the five houses in Negros Oriental being searched are owned by the lawmaker, Abalos said.

Abalos said the raid is also in relation to allegations that Teves ordered killings in Negros Oriental in 2019. He added that the CIDG had applied for a search warrant in response to reports about illegal firearms in these properties.

The interior secretary said some of Teves’ firearms have “spurious” or fake documents, and were discovered because of the government’s regular review of firearms registration.

“Ah, kasi ano ‘yan eh. Gumagawa sila every year ng review ng lahat, hindi lang naman siya. Lahat ito. Baka kasi sabihin niya eh pinag-iinitan siya. Matagal na ‘yan eh, it was even last year ,” Abalos said.

(Actually, it’s because of this. They do a review every year on everyone who has registered firearms, not just him. Everyone. He might say he’s being singled out. This was a long time ago, it was even last year.)

Ferdinand Topacio, Teves’ legal counsel, said they heard about the raid and that they have legal counsels attending to it.

“I just hope that all the safeguards na nando’n po sa ating batas sa pagpapa-implement ng isang search warrant ay sundin po ng ating kapulisan,” Topacio said in an interview with News5 on Friday.

(I just hope that all the safeguards that we have in the laws about the implementation of search warrants will be followed by the police.)

On March 7, the CIDG filed a multiple murder complaint against Teves and five others over three killings that occurred in Negros Oriental four years ago. Lawyer Levito Baligod, legal counsel of the complainants, said the victims’ families are also respondents in the complaint.

The complaint was based on the deaths of former Negros Oriental board member Miguel Dungog killed on March 25, 2019; Lester Bato killed on May 26, 2019; and Pacito Libron killed on June 23, 2019. According to Baligod, the alleged killers were paid by Teves.

Among the possible motives is politics, especially in Dungog’s case. The late Negros Oriental official was killed while running for a seat in the provincial council. He was an ally of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo. – Rappler.com