2 weeks Ago By Jairo Bolledo
MANILA, Philipppines – Fugitive former lawmaker Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. has bought time as Timor-Leste set another proceeding in relation to his extradition. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement on Tuesday, September 17, that Teves’ team is contesting Timor-Leste’s decision to extradite him back to the Philippines.
“Mr. Teves’ legal team is now attempting to contest this ruling on procedural grounds, specifically questioning the number of judges involved in the decision. This is a clear afterthought, raised only after the proceedings had concluded unfavorably for him.
In Philippine law, such a move would be barred under the principle of estoppel, which prevents a party from challenging procedural issues if they actively participated in the process and failed to raise objections earlier,” the DOJ said. The justice department said that the Timor-Leste Court of Appeal’s (CA) decision granting the extradition request was based on merit. What the Teves camp is doing now is to contest the court’s decision based on the proceedings, the DOJ said, adding that Teves’ “objections only arose after they failed to secure a favorable outcome.
” “We are confident that the outcome of the new proceedings will be the same as the previous decision. The legal merits are clear, and we expect that Mr. Teves will face justice in the Philippines soon, given the strong evidence against him in connection with multiple serious charges, including the murder of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo,” the DOJ said.
Teves is in Timor-Leste pending his extradition after he was arrested there for his warrants of arrest in the Philippines. He was on the Interpol’s red notice alert and was nabbed through cooperation between Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Dili and the Timorese police. The expelled lawmaker was the alleged mastermind behind the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo in 2023.
Teves was also implicated in the 2019 killings in his home province. These alleged crimes were the basis of the Philippine warrants, but Teves has yet to face local courts as he was already in Timor-Leste prior to the issuance of the arrest orders. To bring back Teves to the country, the DOJ banked on his extradition, which Timor-Leste approved in June.
Pamplona, Negros Oriental Mayor Janice Degamo , the late governor’s wife, earlier said that the approval of the Philippine government request to extradite Teves was an “answered prayer” for them. – Rappler.com.
