President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured on Friday, March 22, that all legal remedies will be exhausted to bring ousted Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr., who is tagged as the mastermind in the murder of Gov. Roel Degamo, back to the Philippines to face charges after his arrest in Timor-Leste.
Teves was arrested at the Top Golf Driving Range and Bar in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, at 4 p.m. Thursday, the Department of Justice said.
“With his arrest and the cancellation of his passport we pray that Arnie Teves will be returned promptly to the Philippines to face the multiple murder charges against him,” Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the widow of Roel Degamo, said in a Facebook post on Friday.
“While NegOrenses suffered at the hands of the Teves terrorist group their leader Arnie Teves hid abroad enjoying a life of luxury. His arrest abroad at a high-end golf course demonstrates his total disregard for our law enforcement agencies. Despite all his wealth and power in the end he cannot escape justice,“ she said.
“The arrest of Arnie Teves would not have been possible without the unwavering loyalty of hundreds of thousands of NegOrenses to Roel and the commitment of our national government to ending the culture of impunity in Negros Oriental. This is a victory for justice, for truth, for each and every NegOrense,” Mayor Degamo said.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, “as they say you can run but you can’t hide.”
He said the arrest of Teves “is a first process and former congressman Teves will now be allowed to defend himself in the proper forum”.
The president, on his official X account (@bongbongmarcos) on Friday, said “rest assured that the government will take all necessary actions to bring him back to the country so he can face the charges filed against him”.
“I assure the Filipino people that we will spare no effort in ensuring that justice will prevail in this case”, he said.
Marcos also commended the collaborative efforts of Philippine law enforcement agencies and their international partners in the successful arrest of Teves.
Teves is facing multiple charges, in connection with the killing of Gov. Degamo and nine others in March 2023, and three others in 2019.
He is now under the custody of the Timorese police, while his extradition to the Philippines is being worked out.
Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, in a statement issued Friday said his client’s arrest “is not indicative of his guilt in any case in the Philippines, nor was it because of violation of any law of Timor-Leste.”
He said any references to terrorism, criminal acts or any other inferences committed by Teves, or any implication that he is already guilty “is not only premature but injudicious and ignorant as well”.
Topacio claimed government’s attempts to play up Teves case is a diversion to cover up its lack of concrete achievements.
“We will just wait for the DOJ’s rude awakening which will happen soon enough as its cases against Teves continue to collapse under the weight of lies and fabrications, just like wild animals in their death throes making the most noise just before they die”, Topacio said.
Topacio said he has spoken to Teves regarding the circumstances of his arrest, and conferred with his legal team in Timor-Leste led by former East Timor Minister of Justice Tiago Amaral Sarmento and former Timorese Prosecutor-General Jose Ximenes.
“As far as the legal process concerning his detention of concerned, as explained to me by his lawyers in Timor-Leste, the arrest was made under the laws of Timor-Leste preliminarily and administratively as a matter of course, after which Rep. Teves will be turned over to the court for a 20-day trial in which evidence may be adduced on this behalf in order to determine what will be done relative to any request of the Marcos government,” Topacio said.*