Rep. Pryde Henry Teves (3rd District) has raised concerns over what he called questionable police processes by which two suspected guns-for-hire purportedly out to assassinate Gov. Roel Degamo were arrested, and subsequently charged for illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives.
At a press conference Sunday evening, Teves also lamented the rumors and public perception implicating his brother, Board Member Arnolfo Teves, Jr. as the one who hired the suspects to liquidate the governor.
The two suspects, Anthony Eleuterio and Herman Escoro, were arrested by the security escorts of Governor Roel Degamo in Barangay Bonawon, Siaton in Negros Oriental in the evening of November 10.
The suspects, who reportedly yielded an Ingram automatic pistol, a .45 caliber pistol, two hand grenades and some live ammunition, were believed to have been sent to Bonawon, the Governor’s home village, to kill him.
According to Teves, the statements of the police escorts and the two suspects do not reconcile. He said the statements of the police escorts in their affidavits are “unrealistic and manufactured.”
He is convinced that the two arrested suspects are not hired killers because they do not possess the characteristics of a hired killer.
Rep. Teves said a hired killer will never attack without sufficient ammunition and a getaway vehicle. The sketch plan that was allegedly found from one of the suspects is also dubious, he added.
Teves said he believes that the incident stems from the illegal numbers games in Siaton, the Bingo Millions and “swertres”. He noted there have been previous incidents in Siaton wherein some of the “swertres” collectors were forcefully hired to operate instead with Bingo Millions, a game of chance operated by the national government.
The two suspects claimed that they were in the area because they were looking for a certain Arturo Aliabo because they wanted to work with the illegal numbers game “swertres”, whose results are drawn from the last three digits of the legitimate lottery.
Teves said that focusing on the possible political killing plot is only a way to hide the issue on the proliferation of illegal numbers games like Bingo Millions and Suertres. He noted that in the past 100 years, not a single political killing was reported in Negros Oriental.
The killings in the province are usually motivated by love triangles and land disputes, among others, he said.
He strongly believes that the two illegal numbers games are operating illegally in the province and that these should be stopped. Teves believes that Bingo Millions, or Bingo Milyonaryo, is also illegal because of the manner by which it is played in the province as opposed to how it is supposed to operate.
He also challenged the media that they allow the truth to come out and let the people be the judge as to who is telling the truth.
In response, PNP provincial police director Sr. Supt. Edward Carranza insisted that the arrest of the two suspected guns-for-hire was legal.
Carranza said that if there are questions arising over the arrest of the two suspects, it is now the court that would resolve these. The suspects have been charged with separate complaints of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and illegal possession of explosives, the latter of which is a non-bailable offense.
Carranza also stressed that Eleuterio and Escoro have been under close surveillance since last year and that their names are in the watch list of suspected guns-for-hire.
Eleuterio and Escoro, who claimed that the Ingram machine pistol, caliber .45 hand gun, live rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades purportedly recovered from them, were “planted”. (PNA/Judy Flores-Partlow and Maricar Aranas)
