Camp of Arnie Teves Speaks on Case vs. Former Congressman Abroad
ARNIE TEVES – The camp of the former Negros Oriental Congressman plans to appeal the decision of the Timor-Leste Court on the extradition case against him.
For more than a year now, Teves has yet to return to the Philippines since he was implicated in the death of the late former Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo. The former Governor died following an attack in his house last March 4, 2023.
Then, unidentified men barged in the residence of the Degamo family in Pamplona. Several individuals including the then-Governor died and many others were left injured. The family of the late former Governor and his constituents called for justice.
Following the investigation, Negros Oriental 3rd District Representative Arnie Teves was accused as the alleged mastermind in the death of Roel Degamo. The Degamo and Teves families are political rivals in the province.
However, when Teves was tagged as the alleged mastermind in the death of Degamo, he was already out of the country. He denied the accusations in several videos that he posted on social media amid the calls for him to return to the country and face the charges against him.
Currently, the former Negros Oriental Congressman is in Timor-Leste. The foreign Court has recently ruled on the extradition case versus Teves. For the second time around, Arnie Teves’ extradition was granted by the Timor-Leste Court.
The first ruling was released in June. However, the camp of Teves appealed which took some time before another decision was released. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the camp of Teves confirmed their plan to file another appeal.
“I cannot say much about Congressman Teves because strictly speaking the ball is in the court of our lawyers in Timor-Leste but of course I am almost certain that we will file an appeal and the appellate process will be underway pretty soon,” Attorney Ferdinand Topacio, one of Teves’ legal counsels, said.
Based on the report, the legal counsel of Arnie Teves refused to answer when asked if their camp is hopeful that the Timor-Leste Court will reverse its decision. According to him, he does not know where the confidence of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is coming from.
“Do they know something that we do not? If there is something going on and there are influences brought to bear on the judiciary of Timor-Leste eh mabigat po iyon,” Teves’ lawyer said.
Previously, several Philippine officials have testified against Teves in the extradition case against him.