Former congressman arrested in Timor Leste
A former congressman who is the suspect in the killing the governor of his province last year was arrested in Timor Leste last March 21 and a justice department spokesperson said he may be deported '' in just a matter of days''.
Assistant Justice Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano V said National Bureau of Investigation head Medardo De Lemos is leading a team in Timor Lester to escort Arnolfo Teves to the Philippines.
''The timing on that will be based on the Timor-Leste government. Teves will be in the Philippine in a matter of days,” Clavano said Friday.
Clavano said operatives of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and Timor-Leste police arrested Teves at around 4 pm last Thursday while he was playing golf at the Top Golf Driving Range and Bar in capital city of Dili.
Teves is facing charges of 10 counts of murder, 12 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 51 in the March 4, 2023 shooting in Pamplona, Negros Oriental where 10 persons were killed including provincial governor Roel Degamo.
“Deportation is a fast process since Teves is already an undesirable alien due to the cancelation of passport and is now undocumented which means he is already in violation of Timor-Leste immigration laws,” Clavano stressed.
Clavano said Timor-Leste and Philippine officials are also considering to have Teves extradited.
“The Philippines and Timor-Leste have no extradition treaty. However, there may be a way to still request for extradition due to UNTOC, UN (United Nations) Convention on Transnational Organized Crime,” Clavano said.
He said the Timor-Leste government has twice denied the asylum request of Teves.
“‘His initial asylum request got denied. Teves filed a motion for reconsideration but got denied again,” said Clavano who disclosed that the second denial was made this year.
The DOJ official also admitted that there is no threats or any security risks to the return of Teves.
The Regional Trial Court has issued an arrest warrant against Teves on Sept. 5, 2023 and released an order dated Feb. 5 that directed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to have his passport canceled.
That month, the Interpol issued against Teves a “red notice” which is “a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.” DMS
