Teves camp denies imminent deportation from Timor-Leste
MANILA, Philippines — The camp of expelled lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. has denied reports that he will soon be deported from Timor-Leste, where he is currently detained.
This has been confirmed by Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, to reporters after a report from GMA News on Monday evening which said that the expelled lawmaker is to be deported within two days.
“I am in constant touch with his lawyers in TL (Timor-Leste) who are on top of his legal affairs therein, and as of this writing, we do not have any information on the status of the asylum request, much less that it has been denied,” Topacio said in a message to reporters.
The said report, citing Governor Rodel Degamo’s widow, Janice Degamo, said that the Timor-Leste government has denied the application for political asylum by Teves.
However, Topacio pointed out that the denial of an asylum application is subject to appeal and that Timor-Leste law provides a transitional period of 20 days.
“In Mr. Teves' case, we have every intention to appeal. The information is thus erroneous and, to borrow from Kipling, 'twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools’,” Topacio’s message read.
It could be recalled that the expelled lawmaker applied for political asylum in Timor-Leste following his arrest on March 21.
Teves is currently in pre-trial detention at Becora Prison.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) neither confirmed nor denied the news about Teves.
However, DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said that the agency is still waiting for Timor-Leste’s decision concerning the expelled lawmaker’s extradition.
On March 4, 2023, Teves was implicated as the alleged mastermind in the assassination of Degamo.
The expelled lawmaker is additionally facing an arrest warrant related to a murder case involving the deaths of three individuals in Negros Oriental in 2019.
In August 2023, the Anti-Terrorism Council labeled Teves as a terrorist, claiming that his leadership of an armed group led to orchestrating killings and a series of harassments in Negros Oriental.
Teves was also charged with financing terrorism under Section 4 of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, as well as similar provisions under the Anti-Terrorism Law.
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