The lawyer of suspended Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. said the representative will not be returning home to the country unless the government complies with "certain requests" about his security.
Teves’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio made the statement despite appeals from his family and even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other government officials to address the accusations brought against him in connection with the death of former Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.
The requests Teves made to Speaker Martin Romualdez were not made public by Topacio, who merely stated that they wished to clarify the situation concerning the representative's security concerns to the speaker.
"[The Speaker] did not mislead us. He said, ‘We can do these requests. We cannot do these requests.’ With that Rep. Teves could not come home yet," the lawyer said.
Topacio also addressed that Marcos' offer to protect and secure the suspended congressman is not enough.
"We thank the president for his concern. But the reality of the situation is that he cannot micromanage the situation. We are not seeking special treatment, we are just ensuring his safety," the lawyer added.
'Not 99% case solved'
The head legal counsel of Teves' camp also expressed a different opinion on Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla's claim that the case is now "99 percent solved."
"With all due respect to Justice Secretary [Jesus Crispin] "Boying" Remulla, 99.9 percent solved? It is never 99 percent, 100 percent, 70 percent, 50 percent solved at this stage; it is still too early," Topacio stressed.
"If Remulla said that it was 99 percent solved because a mastermind was caught yesterday, does he mean that Teves is only 1 percent," he added.
Topacio demanded that the Department of Justice (DOJ) provide the evidence it had against his client in a court of law.
