Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 30) — Embattled Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves on Tuesday said he believes he is being used to divert public attention from bigger issues, including the bid to rush the passage of the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund bill.
“Ang dami ng mali diyan sa pangyayari diyan sa Pilipinas, ako yung ginagawa nilang panakip butas,” he told CNN Philippines’ The Source, without offering proof.
“Halimabwa lang… di ba puputok na yung Maharlika fund, siyempre aangal yung taong bayan pero pag sinabay nila yung issue ni Arnie, anumang parusa yan, syempre mas magiging malabnaw ‘yung issue ng Maharlika fund,” he pointed out.
[Translation: There are many wrong things happening there in the Philippines, I’m being used as a cover up. For example, the Maharlika fund is about to blow up, of course the public will resist but once Arnie’s issue enters, whatever sanction that may be, the Maharlika fund issue will be diluted.]
The Senate is currently holding deliberations on the proposed Maharlika sovereign wealth fund amid criticisms it could put in jeopardy billions of pesos in public funds.
While some lawmakers said more time should be allocated to study the proposed measure, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said the upper chamber aims to approve the bill this week before Congress goes on break.
READ: Senate denies Pimentel’s move to further question Maharlika bill
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has certified the bill as urgent.
Teves, who was tagged as one of the masterminds in the murder of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, said he believes lawmakers are rushing to pass the controversial bill and that they are using his issue to conceal this.
CNN Philippines is seeking comment from officials and proponents of the bill.
READ: Pimentel urges public to pressure legislators against swiftly passing Maharlika bill
Aside from the Degamo slay, Teves is also facing a battle with his colleagues in the House of Representatives as the ethics committee is set to recommend “stiffer sanctions” against him for his continued failure to report for work.
Teves said the panel has been one-sided in making its decisions after he was demanded to physically attend the hearings. He was also not allowed to be represented by his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio during such procedures.
The lawmaker also claimed his allies are being silenced so that the “rule of the boss” will be followed.
“It’s not that I’m ready or I’m considering (to be possibly expelled), it’s that I am powerless over these people,” Teves said. “Kaya nilang apihin kahit sinong gusto nilang apihin sa sistema ng kanilang pangaapi dahil sila lang gumagawa ng mga bagay-bagay at batas ng laro.”
[Translation: They can bully anyone in their system of bullying because they make their own rules in the game.]
Teves has yet to return to the country after flying to the United States late-February for medical treatment. He claimed threats to his life are getting worse.
He declined to reveal where he is currently at.
Teves’ colleagues, who previously slapped him with a 60-day suspension, have been pushing him to return to the country.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez earlier warned Teves of another disciplinary action after his suspension ended on May 22.
He urged Teves to come home, discouraged him from seeking political asylum, and assured him that the entire House leadership will exert all means necessary for his safe return to the country.
