Solon’s camp: Anti-terror law being weaponized
THE Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has designated suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves and his brother former governor Pryde Henry Teves as terrorists, together with 11 other alleged members of the “Teves Terrorist Group.”
The council, in a separate resolution, also tagged as terrorists two members of the Maute Group that was behind the “Marawi siege” of 2017.
The designation of the 15 individuals was “based on probable cause and unwavering commitment” in the fight against terrorism, Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesman Mico Clavano said in a briefing in Malacañang.
He also said the 15 “posed a grave threat to our nation’s well-being.”
Luis Warren, legal office of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), said an immediate effect of the terrorist designation is the freezing of the person’s assets.
Rep Teves, whose whereabouts remain unknown, has been tagged by the Department of Justice as mastermind in the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo last March. Teves’ legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, slammed what he said was the government’s “weaponization” of Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 but said the ATC move is not a surprise.
“The agencies of government, having eggs on their faces due to the recantation of all key witnesses, lack of evidence against Rep. Teves, the public backlash against his obvious persecution, and the embarrassing failure of the authorities in bullying him into returning to the country in spite of grave and serious threats to his life, has expectedly weaponized the anti-terror act by using it for the purpose for which it was not designed. One only has to read the reasoned decision of the Supreme Court on this matter to know this to be true,” he said in a statement.
Degamo’s widow, Mayor Janice Degamo of Pamplona town in Negros Oriental, welcomed the designation and said no other word except “terrorist” can be used to describe the Teveses.
Degamo noted the alleged crimes of the Teveses in the province like land grabbing, victims of which, she said, were killed if they refuse to surrender their land.
“How else would you call them if not that (terrorist)? So it’s just right, it’s high time that they are tagged as such…The acts that they have been doing in our province is really that of a terrorist,” she added.
Pryde Henry Teves said he was shocked over the ATC move.
In a radio interview, he said his lawyers are going to appeal the decision which he said will make life difficult for him in terms of business transactions.
“It came as a shock to me and of course depressing because I have to the daily grind, I have to live my daily grind because you know I still have a family to support,” said Teves.
“My business transactions will be affected, everything will be affected. Business climate is already not that good, then this (designation came), so I will really have difficulty,” said Teves.
The ATC, in Resolution No. 43, dated July 23, 2023 but was released only yesterday, said Rep Teves violated several provisions of the Ant-Terrorism Act (ATA) like Section 4 (committing terrorism), 6 (planning, training, preparing and facilitating the commission of terrorism), 10 (recruitment to and membership in a terrorist organization), and 12 (providing material support to terrorists).
Other alleged members of the Teves Terrorist Group and designated as terrorists were Marvin H. Miranda, Nigel Electona, Hannah Mae Sumero Oray, Rogelio C. Antipolo, Rommel Pattaguan, Winrich B. Isturis, John Loiue Gonyon, Dahniel Lora, Eulogio Gonyon Jr., Tomasino Aledro, and Jomarie Catubay.
Pryde Henry Teves allegedly violated Sections 4, 6 and 12 while Electona and Oray supposedly violated Sections 4 and 12. The rest allegedly violated Sections 4 and 6.
`ATMOSPHERE OF FEAR’
The ATC said the designations were formalized following a “thorough examination” of “compelling evidence and factual incidents.”
It said that the group has allegedly been involved in killings and harassments in Negros Oriental which has intimidated residents, created an atmosphere of fear.
“These acts are also designed to influence by intimidation the local population and government of Negros Oriental to seriously undermine public safety and to ensure that Congress Teves Jr. and his group could continue and expand their reign of terror in the guise of political leadership,” the ATC resolution read.
National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya said the designation of Teves and his group was not solely because of the Degamo killing.
“The killing of Governor Degamo and his supporters helped the Anti-Terrorism Council establish the pattern of violent activities that warrant his designation and that of his group as a terrorist organization,” he said.
“The evidence gathered by the ATC compels us not to treat the killings, abuses and the acquisition of high-powered firearms and explosives as independent and isolated crimes because these acts are not committed just to cause injury to people or the grab property. These violent acts were motivated by the underlying objectives to intimidate the residents of Negros Oriental and create an atmosphere of and spread the message of fear, and he is using his position in government to thoroughly control the province through fear and intimidation,” he added.
2019 KILLINGS
Rep. Teves is facing charges for the killing of three persons in 2019.
One his co-accused, Alex Manegos Mayagma, a resident of Bayawan City and described by the police as the “most notorious hitman” in the region, died Sunday in a shootout with policemen who were about to serve him an arrest warrants for murder, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and violation of Commission on Elections gun ban.
Mayagma was cornered at a rooster farm in Barangay Malabugas. He was initially subdued after pointing a gun at police officers.
“Sensing the danger and in defense of their lives, the police officers scuffled with Mayagma and were able to disarm him,” the Central Visayas PNP said in a statement.
“However, the notorious subject attempted to pull out his other weapon concealed inside his sling bag to shoot the operatives, prompting them to open fire and defend themselves,” it added.
Mayagma was brought to the Bayawan District Hospital but was declared dead upon arrival.
PERSECUTION
For Russel Miraflora, lawyer of Antipolo, Lora and Pattaguan, the ATC’s designation is part of the government’s “persecution.”
“Our clientele never committed acts of terrorism so as they can be designated as terrorists. It is very clear that what was offered by the ATC to the previous press briefing can be dubbed as part of the persecutions by the government against Cong. Teves and against those who are alleged to be acquainted with him,” Miraflora said in a statement.
Electona’s lawyer Michael Mella said his client is also not a terrorist and the ATC has no factual or legal basis to dub him as such.
“It smacks of oppression, abuse of power and the exact paradigm of capricious disregard of due process of law. A reading of all the malicious charges against my client would show that the allegations in support thereof are very shallow, twisted, obviously contrived and based on planted and fabricated evidence,’ Mella said.
Lawyer Jord Vallenton, counsel of the Gonyons and Isturis, asked how the ATC determined that his clients were the same gunmen who were wearing bonnets when they attacked Degamo in his residence.
“That appears to be putting the cart before the horse. Admittedly, armed men appear in the CCTV to have committed the gruesome acts. There are big and lingering questions though,” Valenton said in a separate statement.
“Has anybody sufficiently established a connection between those armed men and my clients, whom the officers arrested? How were the officers able to determine that it was my clients, when the faces of the armed men were covered with bonnets? How did they know when my clients were not wearing at the time of the arrest what the armed men were wearing in the CCTV footage? How did the officers know when There also was a big time difference between the tragedy and the arrest?” Valenton said.
He said with such a gap in the investigation, his clients were surprised by their terrorist designation.
ASSETS FREEZE
Justice Undersecretary Nicolas Felix Ty, said the freezing of assets is limited to the person designated as a terrorist and would not apply to other members of his or her family.
Ty also assured the public that due process was observed when Teves was declared a terrorist.
Malaya said the designation of the Maute and Teves groups as terrorists serve as a strong signal that the government is prepared to take decisive measures against any individual or organization that poses a threat to the safety and security of the public.
“The designation of Cong. Teves and his armed group as a terrorist organization is a significant step towards addressing the presence of private armed groups in the country as it sends a clear message against them. Furthermore, it brings us closer to the goal of combating impunity as these designations seek to hold accountable those who perpetrate acts of terrorism and violence in our country,” he added.
Clavano said that the designation does not mean that Rep Teves is now a fugitive.
“He is not considered a fugitive as this is separate and distinct from a criminal action. It is only when you are issued a warrant of arrest that you become a fugitive or your status becomes a fugitive. Right now, he is designated as a terrorist but that’s as far as we go,” he added.
SANCTION
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco Jr. said the House received a copy of Resolution No. 43, which he said, will be considered by the House committee on ethics which is still investigating Teves to determine the next sanction that will be imposed on him if he still does not return to work since his latest 60-day suspension lapsed on July 30.
The panel chaired by Rep. Felimon Espares (PL, COOP-NATCCO) resumed its hearing yesterday, which was attended by representatives of the Justice department, NBI, and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Espares earlier said the panel may recommend to the floor that Teves be expelled from the House if he will refuse to attend to his duties as a lawmaker.
Teves has refused to return to the country, saying there are threats to his safety despite assurances from the government.
In a motion last month, he asked the DOJ to dismiss the multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder complaints stemming from Degamo’s killing due to lack of evidence to support a finding of probable cause.
Topacio said since Degamo’s killing, “the government has mobilized all the resources at its disposal-starting with immediately tagging Mr. Teves as the mastermind thereof without investigation, conducting illegal searches on his properties, laying siege to his powers and prerogatives as member of the House, embarking on a massive media campaign to discredit him and prejudice the minds of the public against him, among others-all in an obsessive attempt to blame him for a crime at the expense of his Constitutional rights.”
He said the ATC’s designation is meant to hide the fact that the government has failed to present a coherent case against Teves, especially with the recantation of 10 of the 11 suspects in custody of their earlier statements acknowledging their role in the March 4 attack.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier tagged Teves as the alleged mastermind in Degamo’s killing with his right-hand man, Marvin Miranda, reportedly acting as the middleman who contacted the gunmen and procured the weapons and other supplies for them.
MAUTE MEMBERS
Clavano said the ATC designated Hafida Romato Maute and Nahara Khairiya Sittie Hamim as terrorists for committing terrorism.
Maute is the wife of the former Amir of the Islamic State-East Asia Abu Zacharia while Hamim is the wife of Abu Mursid/Morsid, the sub-leader and finance and logistics officer of the same organization.
“The Maute Group has long been identified as a terrorist organization with ties to the ISIL and a history of violence culminating in the devastating Marawi Siege in 2017. The designation of Hafidah Romato Maute and Nahara Khairiya Sittie Hamim as terrorists further solidify our resolve to combat terrorism at its roots,” he said. — With Ashzel Hachero, Victor Reyes and Wendell Vigilia
