Teves exploring legal options to avoid deportation – lawyer
MANILA – The lawyers of former Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. are exploring several legal options to prevent his possible deportation to the Philippines from Timor Leste.
Atty. Ferdinand Topacio said one of the possible options they are studying is to lodge a complaint before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
“Trial will resume on Monday. The TL [Timor-Leste] lawyers will then submit arguments in support of other options for Teves, including political asylum,” Topacio said in a statement on Saturday night.
“The TL legal team will meet to explore other legal moves, including bringing the persecution of Teves to the United Nations Human Rights Council,” the lawyer added.
Topacio also claimed that National Bureau of Investigation agents, including Dir. Medardo De Lemos, visited Teves but eventually left after “after realizing that they would not be able to bring Mr. Teves home with them until after the trial.”
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said over the weekend that the Philippine government would exhaust all actions to bring Teves back in the country and face his cases here.
“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,” Marcos said in a post on his X account.
“I assure the Filipino people that we will spare no effort in ensuring that justice will prevail in this case,” he added. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all those involved in this operation for their unwavering dedication to upholding peace and order.”
Teves, who is facing multiple murder charges in connection with the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and five others in March 2023, was arrested in Timor-Leste while playing golf in Dili on Thursday afternoon last week.
Teves, who was designated as a terrorist along with 11 others by the Anti-Terrorism Council in June 2023 and was expelled from his elective position in August, 2023, was also charged with the deaths of three individuals in Negros Oriental in 2019./