Mother and son, together again

Zenaida Teves finally saw her son and held him again.

Two years after former Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. fled the country, his mother stood beside him — no longer just a silent figure in the background, but now the face of a mother’s pain, longing, and quiet endurance in one of the Philippines’ most recent high-profile criminal cases.

“I thank God that after two years, I finally saw and embraced my son again,” Mrs. Teves said, her voice cracking during a brief appearance before the media Saturday. “We didn’t even need words. That hug said it all.”

For Zenaida, the past two years were marked by silence and sorrow. She was unable to visit her son in Timor-Leste while her husband battled a terminal illness. He died last December.

“We weren’t able to go home to Negros... it was a very difficult time,” she recalled.

Now back in the Philippines to face multiple charges — including murder, frustrated murder, and terrorist financing — Arnie Teves is preparing for a protracted legal battle.

But even as his defense lawyer Ferdinand Topacio detailed their legal readiness, it was Zenaida who provided the day’s most powerful image: a mother’s tight embrace of her son after years of separation.

She expressed her gratitude to the National Bureau of Investigation, whose agents she said treated her son with dignity following his deportation from Timor-Leste on 29 May.

“I really want to thank Director Jaime Santiago and the whole NBI team,” she said. “They treated my son well. I am grateful that after two years, I could finally see and hug him again.”

Topacio echoed her sentiments, praising the NBI’s professionalism and humane conduct.

“All basic human rights and the rights of the accused were observed. The NBI staff were courteous, decent, and very helpful,” he said.

The lawyer also made a surprising appeal to others who are wanted by the law: “We encourage other fugitives to consider surrendering. If they do so under Director Santiago’s leadership, they can expect fair and decent treatment.”

But for Zenaida, no legal strategy or courtroom drama could match the emotional relief at seeing her son alive and safe.

“A mother never stops waiting,” she said. “And after all this time, he’s finally home.”