Acquittal à la Carte: Teves Clears One Murder, Nine Pamplona Corpses Still Waiting for Their Main Course

One Appetizer Acquitted, the Bloody Entrée of Ten Still Simmering on the Impunity Stove

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — January 18, 2026

MGA ka-kweba, pull up a chair and pour yourself something strong—preferably something that burns going down. This latest chapter in the Degamo-Teves blood opera does exactly that to anyone who still pretends the Philippine justice system isn’t a terminal patient on life support.

Yesterday, headlines announced that former congressman Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr.—fugitive cosplayer and alleged mastermind of the Pamplona massacre—received acquittal in the 2019 murder of provincial board member Miguel Dungog. His lawyer Ferdinand Topacio celebrated swiftly. Meanwhile, the Degamo family posted on social media to clarify: this acquittal touches none of the 2023 massacre cases (Philstar.com, 17 Jan. 2026).

And clarify we must. Philippine justice remains theatre of the absurd—directed by clowns, funded by warlords, starring prosecutors who couldn’t convict a confessed criminal on live television.

Let’s dissect this festering carcass, layer by diseased layer.

**“Reservation for 10? Sorry, the only table left is the morgue—still waiting on the chef’s ‘prima facie’ special that never arrives.”**

1. The Legal Farce: A Demurrer Granted, A Prosecution Gutted

The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 granted Teves’ demurrer to evidence under Rule 119, Section 23 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure. In plain terms: the prosecution rested, the defense challenged sufficiency, and the judge ruled no prima facie case existed.

Evidence proved anorexically thin. No proven conspiracy, no established command responsibility, no smoking gun—not even a warm one. Just recycled confessions that collapsed under cross-examination. Acquittal followed. Double jeopardy attached. Case closed.

Yet this acquittal means precisely nothing for the Pamplona massacre cases. Ten murder counts, thirteen frustrated, four attempted—separate incidents, separate victims, separate courts. Philippine jurisprudence holds firmly that acquittal in one case does not bar prosecution for distinct offenses. Res judicata limits strictly to the specific case.

Spare us the “vindication” spin. This isn’t exoneration; it exposes prosecutorial incompetence.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) bungled the 2019 case spectacularly. Witnesses recanted, confessions smelled of duress, evidence chains broke everywhere. Pure stupidity? Overwork? Or paid interference? In this country, incompetence and corruption often twin indistinguishably. The DOJ habitually overloads weapons and forgets ammunition.

Then comes the masterpiece: the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) tagged Teves as terrorist in July 2023—the first elected official so labeled under Republic Act No. 11479 (Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020). Probable cause alone froze assets and nuked reputation—before any conviction.

If evidence shows orchestrated political killings sowing widespread fear in Negros Oriental, then yes—call it terrorism. Warlordism with automatics qualifies as domestic terror.

Yet designating a lawmaker terrorist without trial sets dangerous precedent. It arms the executive to bludgeon opponents. Today Teves; tomorrow any inconvenient opposition. Drafters swore against politicization. Believe that at your peril.

This isn’t justice; it’s legal chemotherapy—kill the cancer, ignore the patient’s lost dignity.

2. The Political Theater: Feudal Bloodsport in Negros Oriental

Zoom out: legal wrangling forms mere sideshow. The main stage is Negros Oriental—treated as feudal property by warring clans for decades.

The spark ignited in the 2022 gubernatorial race. Pryde Henry Teves—Arnie’s brother—initially won, until the Supreme Court upheld the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) decision to credit votes intended for real Roel Degamo, spoiled by a nuisance candidate named “Ruel Degamo.” Classic election chicanery. The Court, in Teves v. COMELEC (G.R. No. 262622), saw through the name-game and unseated Pryde Henry. Teves clan screamed persecution. Degamo clan celebrated. Then, on March 4, 2023, armed men turned the governor’s residence into a shooting gallery.

Ten dead, including the governor. Political motive written in blood.

Distribute scorn equally—no one deserves ovation here.

Teves Camp: They cry “political persecution” while their patriarch globe-trotted two years on a “medical checkup” longer than most doctorates. He sought asylum in Timor-Leste, got deported in May 2025 anyway, now claims unfair trial due to publicity. Flight qualifies as textbook circumstantial evidence of guilt under jurisprudence like People v. Beriber. Optics prove catastrophic. He looks guilty, not innocent.

Degamo Camp & Government: Righteous justice quest—or political capital grab? The ATC slapped the terrorist tag months after the massacre, yet ordinary justice crawls glacially. When it’s a high-profile opponent, state suddenly sprints. Selective diligence reeks.

The System Itself: The star—the decaying justice mansion where politics, money, violence squat in every room. Witnesses flip. Gunmen recant. Prosecutors fumble. Judges transfer. We the audience keep buying tickets, hoping different endings.

This case exhibits how institutions hollowed under warlord accommodation.

3. The Analytical Core: What Happens Next?

Pamplona cases pend before Manila RTC Branch 51—transferred from Negros for “security” (code for local court intimidation fears).

Will they survive demurrer too? Possible if DOJ repeats 2019. Witnesses recanted; plea deals unravel. Yet evidence reportedly stronger—communications, logistics, gunmen pointing to “Cong. Teves.” Tight conspiracy case via circumstantial evidence and command responsibility could convict.

Plea bargain? Unlikely—neither side compromises. This remains existential.

Worst: cascading acquittals, Teves mostly walks, DOJ looks incompetent.

Best for rule of law: massacre convictions, long sentences, message to warlords that old rules ended.

Broader: Teves conviction could break dynasty grip, open genuine competition in Negros Oriental. Acquittal entrenches impunity.

Nationally, terrorist designation precedent etches in stone. Future administrations wield it—against threats or nuisances, time will tell.

Public trust? Already gutter-bound. Another fumbled case flushes it fully.

4. The Prescriptive Punch: Burn It Down and Start Over

Enough autopsy. Apply scalpel.

This saga demands radical surgery:

Prosecutorial competence — Create permanent special task force for political killings—insulated, funded, with skilled conspiracy prosecutors.
Witness protection — Current program jokes. Witnesses recant fearing retaliation. Triple budget, relocate families abroad if needed, enforce ruthlessly.
Political dynasty regulation — Enforce constitutional ban under Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution with teeth. No simultaneous or successive sibling/spouse/child runs. Break feudal bloodlines.
Anti-Terror Law application — Amend RA 11479 for judicial confirmation of ATC designations within 60 days, full adversarial hearing. No executive politician-labeling on probable cause alone.

If we don’t demand these—if we shrug to next scandal—we deserve the rotting theatre we watch.

Justice for Roel Degamo and nine others gunned down won’t come from press releases. It arrives only when we stop tolerating a system treating lives as elite power-game props.

Drain your glass, sharpen your pitchforks, and never forget: justice delayed is impunity approved. Until the next corpse drops,

— Barok