It would be a buffed Arnolfo Teves Jr., whom the Philippine government would try to bring home from Timor-Leste, to be held accountable for the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and the killing of nine others last year.
“Congressman Teves is very healthy. I think he’s working out. He’s fit, very healthy,” said National Bureau of Investigation chief Medardo de Lemos, who led an NBI team that tried but failed to bring Teves home pending the completion of Timor-Leste’s extradition proceedings.
De Lemos described the ex-lawmaker as “ripped, toned, and in good spirits,” adding: “We talked to him. He even had a picture of himself smiling. He’s afraid to return to the Philippines; he’s afraid that something bad might happen to him.”
The NBI director said he assured Teves of his safety.
“Sir, that was our commitment to (Timor-Leste) President José Ramos-Horta, and the agency’s commitment, our commitment to you that nothing bad will happen to you when you return to the Philippines,” De Lemos recounted his conversation with Teves.
On Tuesday, the camp of Teves, who also stands accused in the killings of three others in Negros Oriental in 2019, said bringing his case before the United Nations Human Rights Council remains an option as it is allowed under international law.
“Our country is a signatory to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and under international law, an individual, as opposed to the state, is also subject to international law,” said Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, one of Teves’ lawyers.
Asked if the UN could compel the Philippine government to take a particular action, Topacio said the UN can be very “persuasive.”
Topacio said that since the country is a member state of the UN, the latter can exert moral persuasion and pressure. If they go this route, he said they will show that Teves’ rights have been violated.
The Department of Justice brushed off the pronouncement of Teves’ legal team, saying the UN would not “recognize” or acknowledge any camp that refuses to go through the Philippine justice system.
“The brutal crimes happened here in the Philippines. The families of the victims are here in the Philippines. So we want justice to be served here in the Philippines,” said DoJ spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano.
Degamo was killed commando-style by several armed men who barged into the compound of his residence on 4 March 2023. Nine others, many of them his constituents, were caught in the hail of bullets.
Teves was out of the country at the time of the attack and never returned despite efforts by the House of Representatives to make him come home to face the complaints. The House later voted to expel him after his permit to travel expired, and he refused to come home.
He was arrested last week in Dili, Timor Leste, at a golf driving range on the strength of an International Police red notice requested by the Philippines.
