IT isn’t easy to remove an elected representative of a legislative district from the rolls of the House of Representatives, especially so when the expulsion had to be done by the congressman’s colleagues.
Members of the House found themselves at the rope’s end last Wednesday, August 16, when they voted to strike out Arnolfo Teves Jr., representative of the third district of Negros Oriental, from the list of members.
The House of Representatives voted 265-0-3 to expel one of its own, Teves, during the plenary session over presided by Speaker Martin Romualdez. This set a precedent of expelling a member through a recommendation of the ethics committee after a motu proprio investigation. There have been cases wherein lawmakers were expelled after conviction by the courts.
‘In fine, the case of the beleaguered Negros Oriental congressman would drive home the message that public officials are not immune to punishment and sanctions under the law.’
Various offenses committed by Teves were listed by the Committee on Ethics and Privileges in its 18-page report, among them his expired travel authority and his video posted on social media, showing the lawmaker dancing to “Budots” wearing only a boxer shorts and a white tank top and saying that was how present-day terrorists are trained.
Rep. Felimon Espares of the party-list group COOP NATCCO, chairman of the ethics committee, said the move of the Anti-Terrorism Council to tag Teves as a terrorist was “not the basis” of the panel’s recommendation to expel Teves. He said the main reasons for the recommendation were Teves’ pursuit of political asylum in Timor Leste, his continued absence, and his “indecent behavior in social media.”
The punishment may be harsh but at least, it was not arbitrary. The expulsion and removal from all committee memberships was the third and final penalty from the House after Teves was slapped with two 60-day suspensions.
Teves left the Philippines for the United States on Feb. 28, 2023. His travel authority from the House leadership expired on March 9.
On March 4, Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo was gunned down and killed in broad daylight near his residence, in an attack that also killed several people. Teves, after being tagged as the alleged mastermind in the killing, has vehemently refused to come home, claiming threats to his life.
The ethics committee investigated the cases against Teves and recommended to the plenary the expulsion of the congressman. They also pushed the two previous suspension orders on Teves.
The punitive process taken by the House of Representatives mirrors that of the Department of Justice, which used the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to pin the erring congressman, aside from throwing the book and filing numerous cases.
In the case of Teves’ dancing in a social media video, it may be interpreted as his way of satirizing the government’s terrorist tag against him, and not plain indecent act as the House pictured it.
In fine, the case of the beleaguered Negros Oriental congressman would drive home the message that public officials are not immune to punishment and sanctions under the law.
All public officials and government employees are put on notice on this.
