Philippines to Timor-Leste: ASEAN bid at risk over Teves extradition row
MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has cautioned Timor-Leste that its refusal to extradite expelled lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. could jeopardize its application for ASEAN membership.
"It is not going to be pleasant for Timor-Leste because they're applying to be in the ASEAN, and we are one of the founding fathers of the ASEAN," Remulla said in a March 25 interview.
Timor-Leste, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, currently holds observer status in ASEAN. The regional bloc, of which the Philippines is a founding member, includes Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Remulla urged Timor-Leste to simplify the matter by deporting Teves, describing it as a straightforward case of removing an undocumented Filipino citizen facing criminal charges.
"His passport has been canceled, all they have to do is deport him here. For them to go to certain matters that are intrinsically local to us, it's a big stretch," he said.
Timor-Leste's Tribunal de Recursos rejected the Philippine government's extradition request on March 20, citing concerns over potential torture if Teves were returned. In response, the Philippine government plans to file a motion for reconsideration.
Teves' lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, argued that deportation would violate Timor-Leste's constitution, which prohibits actions leading to torture. "By asking Timor Leste to deport Mr. Teves would be asking TL (Timor-Leste) to obliquely transgress its Constitution," Topacio stated[1].
Charges. On February 8, 2024, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 51 ordered the cancellation of Teves' passport following his designation as a terrorist by the Anti-Terrorism Council in August 2023.
The council alleged that Teves led an armed group responsible for killings and harassment in Negros Oriental.
Teves faces multiple serious charges in the Philippines, namely:
- Financing terrorism under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.
- Alleged masterminding of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo's assassination on March 4, 2023.
- A separate murder warrant linked to three deaths in Negros Oriental in 2019.
The former congressman fled the Philippines after Degamo's killing and has remained abroad despite an expired travel authority.
- Latest
- Trending
