ASEANEWS HEADLINE-COURTS & CRIME | MANILA, Philippines: Timor-Leste places Teves under arrest
Video image shows Arnolfo Teves be- ing arrested by immigration authorities in Timor-Leste yesterday./STAR / File
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WATCH VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gvoBatX658
Arnolfo Teves camp files writ of habeas corpus over Timor-Leste arrest | INQToday
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MANILA, Philippines — Expelled Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo Teves Jr., the accused mastermind in the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine others in 2023, was rearrested in his residence in Dili City, Timor-Leste Tuesday night, his son and his lawyer confirmed.
In his Facebook posts yesterday morning, Teves’ son Axl said his father was arrested by Timor-Leste immigration authorities without a warrant of arrest or any other legal documents.
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Ads by:“They just came in forcefully, took him out forcefully,” Axl said.
Axl posted a 10-second video of the arrest of his father and his Portuguese lawyer, Joao Serra.
In a separate video also posted by Axl on Facebook, Teves, standing beside Serra, was seen protesting his arrest.
“We are held against our will. They are not letting me go,” Teves said.
In a post on Facebook, the Philippine Defense Forces Forum quoted Timor-Leste President José Ramos Horta as saying that his country does not want Teves for reasons of national interest.
“Regardless of all legal and constitutional considerations, there is one principle that all countries in the world observe: the national interest,” Ramos-Horta was quoted as saying.
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He said his government was allowing the arrest of Teves “to prevent East Timor from becoming a haven for those who commit crimes in the region.”
Last March, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said Timor-Leste’s application for ASEAN membership could be adversely affected by the denial of the Philippine government’s extradition request against Teves, pointing out that the Philippines is a founding member of ASEAN.
The expelled lawmaker was first arrested by the Timor-Leste police in Dili City in March 2024 while playing golf.
His arrest at the time was by virtue of a Red Notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) upon the request of the Philippine government, in connection with his other pending cases involving multiple counts of murder as well as a case of financing terrorism under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.
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Teves allegedly masterminded the raid on the compound of Degamo on March 4, 2023 in Pamplona, Negros Oriental during which armed men killed the then governor and nine others. Degamo was the political archrival of Teves’ brother, Pryde Henry.
Teves was also a suspect in the murder of three other individuals also in Negros Oriental in 2019, including former provincial board member Miguel Dungog.
The Philippine government’s request for the extradition of Teves was initially granted by a Timor-Leste court in June and December 2024.
Teves’ legal team, however, challenged his extradition before the Timor-Leste Court of Appeal, which in March 2025 ruled in his favor.
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The arrested former lawmaker also has a pending petition for application for political asylum in Timor-Leste.
Teves was expelled as member of the House of Representatives in August last year for disorderly conduct and his continued absence.
In a statement sent to reporters yesterday, Teves’ lawyer in the Philippines, Ferdinand Topacio, also confirmed the former congressman’s arrest, reportedly without warrant.
“At around 8 p.m. yesterday (Dili time), our client, Rep. Arnolfo Teves, was taken from his residence in Dili together with his Timor-Leste counsel, Dr. Joao Serra, by immigration police. The lawyer was manhandled by the said police,” Topacio said.
“The two are presently detained in the compound of the Ministry of the Interior. Mr. Teves has counsel inside the compound. No warrant or any written authority was shown to Mr. Teves and Dr. Serra as to the cause of detention,” he added.
Habeas corpus plea granted
The Timor-Leste Court of Appeal has granted the petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by the legal team of expelled representative Arnulfo Teves, his local lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, claimed.
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Topacio, released to the media yesterday night a two-page resolution dated May 28 signed by Timor-Leste Court of Appeal Judge Jacinta C. da Costa, directing the Office of the Attorney General “to pronounce itself within 48 hours, under the habeas corpus request presented by the defendant Arnolfo Alipit Teves Jr.”
Meanwhile, in the same resolution, the Timor-Leste Court of Appeal also ordered that the Public Prosecutor’s Office be notified “if it wishes to pronounce itself on the habeas request presented by the applicant within 48 hours.”
Reporters sought a confirmation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the supposed grant of Teves’ petition for writ of habeas corpus by the Timor-Leste appellate court, but DOJ spokesperson and assistant secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV said it has yet to receive official communication from Timor-Leste government.
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“I cannot speak for Timor Leste. We will only base our decisions and actions on what they officially communicate to the Philippine government. What happens there internally is no longer within our jurisdiction to comment on,” Clavano said.
Topacio said that the issuance of the writ of habeas corpus, effectively bars Teves’ deportation or transfer of custody to the Philippine government at least within 48 hours.
“If a writ of habeas corpus is granted, Mr. Teves will have to be brought before the court and the arresting authorities will have to convince the court on the legality of his arrest, what is the basis of his detention? And if he will be deported, what is the basis of his deportation?” Topacio said in a mix of English and Filipino in an online press conference earlier yesterday after confirming that a petition for a writ of habeas corpus was already filed by Teves’ lawyers in Timor-Leste.
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Teves was arrested by Immigration officials of Timor-Leste at his residence in Timor-Leste’s capital Dili on Tuesday. He, together with his Portugese lawyer identified as Joao Serra were then brought to the Ministry of the Interior where they are currently detained as of Wednesday night.
Clavano said that despite the “legal challenges” the DOJ is committed to bring Teves home to answer the charges against him.
“All these legal challenges being put before us are worth going through for the victims. We reiterate – we want him to come home to face the charges. We want a chance at justice,” Clavano said.
DOJ awaits word from Dili
In Manila, Department of Justice spokesman Clavano said they are still waiting for official communication from Dili regarding the basis of the arrest of Teves as well as the mode of transfer of custody.
Clavano stressed the DOJ is ready to arrange the transfer of Teves’ custody in the most expeditious manner possible.
“We reiterate that the Philippines has been prepared to bring Mr. Teves home to face the charges against him since the time our request for his extradition was first granted. However, that decision was unexpectedly reversed, stalling the process,” the DOJ said in a statement.
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The DOJ said that while it welcomes recent pronouncements from Dili, which indicate a “renewed position that Mr. Teves should not remain in their territory,” it would await official action or communication on whether the former congressman would simply be deported for being an undocumented foreigner or extradited pursuant to the Philippine government’s request.
“We emphasize that the Philippine government has not been furnished with any legal or official document on the matter. Nonetheless, we are ready to arrange the transfer of custody by the most expeditious means once we are clarified on this issue,” the DOJ said.
“We remain ready and committed to bring Mr. Teves to justice in accordance with the rule of law and the principles of international cooperation. We continue to work closely with the appropriate authorities in Timor-Leste and stand by to act the moment a formal process is initiated,” it added.
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Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil said the PNP Custodial Center is ready for Teves in case he is sent back to Manila.
“We don’t have the knowledge yet of the preparations being done by the DOJ. What we’re saying is we’re prepared to give assistance,” Marbil said.
Teves’ arrest came amid the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Timor-Leste is seeking full membership to the ASEAN, after its membership application was only deemed admitted in principle during the summit in 2022.
Facing Teves in court
Degamo’s widow, Negros Oriental 3rd district representative-elect Janice Degamo said she is looking forward to facing Teves in court.
In a statement, Degamo said Teves’ arrest is a “significant step toward justice, not only for our family, but for the people of Negros Oriental and the entire nation who were shaken by the horrific footage of my husband and nine others being mercilessly gunned down on March 4th, 2023.”
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Degamo defeated Janice Teves Gaston, aunt of siblings Arnie and Pryde Henry Teves, in the May 12 congressional race. – Gilbert Bayoran, Emmanuel Tupas
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