(UPDATE) NEGROS Oriental Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. on Monday denied any involvement in the killing of Gov. Roel Degamo, saying someone is trying to pin the blame on him.
Teves said he had expected that he and his brother, Henry Teves, would be implicated in the death of Degamo, their political rival.
The governor was gunned down while talking with his constituents in front of his house last Saturday. Eight other people were killed, and scores others were wounded in the attack.
Teves said he knows who was behind the efforts to tag him as the mastermind in the killing of Degamo, without naming names.
"You know who you are. I have my own source, and there is a specific individual who wants me to be held responsible," Teves said in Filipino on Facebook.
He said that if he had "the capacity and desire, I ought to have done it before the election."
"In all crimes, the investigator or police first look for who most likely has a motive or has something to gain from the incident," Teves said.
"What would be the motive if I carried it out now? Neither I nor my brother would be the beneficiaries. Because it's the vice governor who will take over if the governor is gone," Teves said.
Vice Gov. Carlo Jorge Joan Reyes has been sworn in as the new governor of Negros Oriental.
Henry Teves and Degamo faced each other in last year's gubernatorial elections in Negros Oriental. Teves was declared the winner, but Degamo challenged the polls' result.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) favored Degamo's appeal and gave him the votes that were credited to Ruel Degamo, a nuisance candidate, enabling him to surpass Teves.
"It's not my brother, who was forced to step down despite actually winning the election for a position, for reasons I am not aware of," Congressman Teves said.
He questioned the security measures in the governor's home in Pamplona town, how the gunmen had easy access to the gate, and how a dog had appeared but had not displayed any aggressive behavior against them.
"They were permitted to enter. According to my analysis, the gunmen and Degamo's security are acquainted," Teves said.
Three suspects in the Degamo killing have been arrested and charged with multiple murders. A fourth suspect was killed by a pursuit team of police and Philippine Army soldiers.
Teves also urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to reinstate his license to carry firearms for his protection.
The license was revoked after the congressman submitted questionable documentation for the registration of his guns — three long firearms and nine small firearms — last January.
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