Expelled Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. has been transferred to a high-security detention facility after two Manila courts issued commitment orders directing that he be placed under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Bicutan, Taguig City.

The orders, issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branches 12 and 51, instructed the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Assistant Director for Intelligence and the Chief of the NBI Security Management Division Detention Facility to immediately transfer Teves to the Metro Manila District Jail Annex 2, located inside the BJMP compound at Camp Bagong Diwa.

This came after Branch 51 denied Teves’ motion to remain in NBI custody, ruling that there was “absolutely no basis” under Philippine law to allow such an arrangement.

The court emphasized that the certificate of handover signed by Timor-Leste officials — where Teves was arrested and deported from in May — does not override the authority of Philippine courts. “Nowhere in the said document did it state that only the DOJ shall take custody of the accused as a prerequisite for his transfer to Philippine authorities,” the court ruling stated.

Through his lawyers, Teves argued that being transferred to a regular jail could endanger his life and violate international protections against torture and inhumane treatment. However, the court firmly rejected those arguments, labeling his fears as “unfounded” and “an outright insult to the trained professionals that run facilities for persons deprived of liberty.”

“While the detention facilities in our country may not possess the luxuries a person may have been accustomed to, the detention therein does not automatically make it inhuman or degrading,” the court added, noting that Teves failed to present credible threats to his safety and that his request was rooted more in “convenience” than in actual necessity.

Court records show that as early as May 30, Branch 12 had already issued a similar order for Teves’ transfer to BJMP custody. Both rulings are now being cited in line with a Supreme Court memorandum that prioritizes the first-issued order in cases involving conflicting court directives.

Teves, who was deported from Timor-Leste on May 28, is facing multiple murder and frustrated murder charges—most notably for the March 2023 assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and others. He had been in hiding overseas for months before being apprehended in Dili, Timor-Leste, and was briefly held under NBI custody upon returning to Manila.