Teves falls ill, ‘requires major surgery’

National

DETAINED former lawmaker Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr., who is facing multiple criminal charges in connection with the 2023 Pamplona massacre, is now also battling a serious health condition.

Teves’ legal counsel, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, said the former Negros Oriental lawmajer was brought to the hospital on Tuesday morning due to stomach pains while in detention at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

After hours of medical evaluation, government doctors concluded that Teves requires major surgery—one that necessitates facilities beyond what the current hospital could provide.

When asked about the exact medical diagnosis, Topacio declined to disclose any details, citing patient privacy.

“The doctors have decided that Mr. Teves’ condition requires major surgery in another hospital with additional equipment and facilities,” said Topacio in an Inquirer.net report.

Doctors later recommended that Teves be transferred to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City.

Topacio added that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has been following proper protocols for emergency medical cases and that all trial courts where his client has pending cases have been promptly notified of his condition.

Teves, previously expelled from Congress, was deported from Timor-Leste following his arrest by Timorese immigration authorities on May 28 in Dili. These charges relate to the killing of then Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and nine others—a case now known as the Pamplona Massacre in 2023.

Teves faces a slew of charges: 10 counts of murder, 14 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder under the Revised Penalty Code.(Rosemarie Fe Singson, PIT Comm. Intern)