The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) has allowed former Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. to post bail worth P120,000 for his temporary liberty in connection with the 2019 killing of Lester Bato in Basay, Negros Oriental.
In a ruling issued on Aug. 20, Branch 12 Presiding Judge Renato Z. Enciso granted Teves’ motion for bail, citing the absence of qualifying circumstances such as “price, reward, or promise” in the alleged murder.
Bato, a bodyguard of Basay mayoral candidate Cliff Cordova, was killed on May 26, 2019.
The court emphasized that while the case involved allegations of murder, the prosecution failed to establish aggravating circumstances that would make the charge non-bailable at this stage.
However, Teves will remain in detention since he is also facing a separate murder case over the March 2023 killing of Gov. Roel Degamo and 10 others in Pamplona, Negros Oriental.
Teves was deported back to the Philippines on May 29, after being arrested in Timor-Leste, where he sought asylum for nearly two years.
He is currently held at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) facility in Building 14 at the maximum security compound in the New Bilibid Prison.*
[sibwp_form id=1]