President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Wednesday urged Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo 'Arnie' Teves Jr. to return to the country.
"The only advise I can give to Cong. Arnie is that habang tumatagal ito, mas magiging mahirap ang sitwasyon mo. So, mas maaga kang mauwi, mas marami pang option," he said during an interview with reporters on the sideline of 126th founding anniversary of the Philippine Army.
Marcos said if Teves won't come home, the government might be prompted to "move without any discussions with him."
The Negros Oriental, who is currently in the United States, is being tagged as the mastermind behind the assassination of former Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo.
His travel authority had already expired but he refused to return to the country due to the "grave threat" to his and his family's security.
The President assured that they would provide all kinds of security assistance to Teves.
He suggested that Teves can use his private jet to fly home in the country and land in any place in the country.
"Mag-landing ka kung saan mo gusto, papaligiran natin ng sundalo to guarantee his security. We have made all these offers," Marcos said.
Palace''s alleged order to pin Teves
Meanwhile, the chief executive refuted Teves' claim that there was an order from the Malacañang to link him to the Degamo slain case.
Teves said the order was rooted from electronic cockfighting or e-sabong.
"Ang puno't dulo nito ay e-sabong? Hindi. Ang puno't dulo nito ay pagkapaslang kay Gov. De gamo. Nagkaproblema na kami sa e-sabong noon, but that's not what it's about," Marcos said.
"Because noon nagkaroon ng e-sabong doon, hindi naman natin ginawa 'yung re-organization, hindi nilipat 'yung mga pulis, hindi natin ipinasok 'yung military dahil sa e-sabog. This is about the killing of Governor Degamo. Pure and simple," he added.
