Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Neg. Or., 3rd District) has appealed for a two-month leave of absence from the House of Representatives due to a “very grave security threat to his life and his family”.
Teves made the appeal in a letter to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez following the expiration of his travel authority on March 9.
The congressman has been linked to the murder of Gov. Roel Degamo that also left eight others dead in Pamplona, Negros Oriental, on March 4.
Teves has denied any involvement in the killings and his lawyer has claimed that firearms recovered from his residences in Negros Oriental on March 10 were planted.
Teves, in his letter to Romualdez, assured that he will “come hack as soon as the threat will be dealt with accordingly under our laws, and with the aid of the government”.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Teves has left the United States and is currently in a Southeast Asian country.
The government has assigned people to track the lawmaker, Remulla said.*