MANILA – The government will continue to pursue efforts to bring back former Negros Oriental 3rd District congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. to the country to face the criminal charges he is facing.
According to Presidential Communications Office’s (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro, the government is committed to making every effort to bring Teves back and ensure justice for his alleged victims.
“Hangga’t makakaya ng administrasyon, ilalaban natin ito para sa hustisya, para sa mga diumano’y biktima,” Castro said in a media briefing on Friday.
Teves is facing multiple murder cases in connection with the killing of former Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and other individuals in 2023.
Ferdinand Topacio, one of Teves’’ attorneys, showed to the media a photograph of the court document from Timor Leste which indicated that the Philippines appeal to extradite his client was rejected “unanimously.”
The court cited the “well-founded risk of being subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading or cruel treatment” as the basis for denying the extradition.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that it will continue to pursue all available legal avenues while reiterating its request for cooperation from the government of Timor-Leste.
In June of the previous year, the DOJ announced that the Timor-Leste government had approved the Philippines’ extradition request./PN
