By Brian Jules Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday assured former Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. of a safe return to the Philippines to face multiple charges against him, adding that there is no threat to his life.
“Sa lahat ng mga sinasabi ni Teves, na takot siya sa buhay niya, wala kaming report na ganun. Walang nagbabanta sa buhay niya,” Marcos told reporters in an interview following an event in Bacolod City.
Teves was accused of being the mastermind in the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo along with nine others in March 2023, and three others in 2019.
He was arrested at the Top Golf Driving Range and Bar in Dili, Timor-Leste on March 21, according to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
The ousted lawmaker is currently under custody of the Timorese police while his extradition to the country is being worked out by Dili’s National Central Bureau (NCB), in coordination with the team from NCB-Manila and Timor-Leste Philippine Embassy.
Meanwhile, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio refuted the plan of the Department of Justice and National Bureau of Investigation to deport or extradite Teves following his visit to the expelled congressman in Timor-Leste.
In a statement on March 30, Topacio said he had gained a better grasp of Timorese laws applicable to Teves’ case after meeting the legal team in the said Southeast Asian country.
“I am now able to say with greater confidence that all that previous talk from the NBI and the DOJ of deportation and swift repatriation are nothing but pure and unadulterated balderdash,” the lawyer declared.
He added that the Timorese constitution “is very strict on due process of law and the same will be applied unconditionally” to Teves.
Furthermore, he mentioned that other legal remedies, including seeking political asylum or non-rendition, are “still very much on the table” contrary to claims of Philippine authorities. – avds
