“The former representative Arnie Teves is now back in the Philippines.” President Ferdinand Marcos said it in a video message on Thursday evening, May 29, and added that it was time for Teves “to face justice.”
Timor-Leste had deported the Interpol-wanted Filipino ex-congressman that day, ending more than two years of political wrangling. Arnolfo Teves is accused of masterminding a March 2023 attack that killed Roel Degamo, then governor of Negros Oriental province, and nine others.
From the airport in Dili to Davao
AFP journalists watched Teves board a turboprop plane at Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Timor-Leste. Government television later aired footage of him in handcuffs, being escorted off a Philippine Air Force plane in the southern city of Davao. The network said the aircraft would refuel there before flying on to Manila.
The turnaround came fast. Timor-Leste announced late on Wednesday that Teves would be removed, saying his continued presence was a security risk. “The Government hereby informs that Arnolfo Teves Jr will be deported from Timor-Leste,” its statement read. It added that the country’s “imminent full accession” to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had reinforced its responsibility to cooperate with regional partners on legal matters.
That marked a reversal. Teves had been detained at a driving range in the capital, Dili, last year, but a Timorese court blocked his extradition. The Philippines justice secretary hinted the ruling may have been bought, saying it was “obvious that some people are making money out of this.”
On Wednesday, Teves’ son Axl posted videos online of Timorese police dragging his father away, and claimed he had been “kidnapped”. Degamo’s widow, Janice, called the arrest a “significant step toward justice”.
The Pamplona attack
Degamo was handing out aid at his home in Pamplona on March 4, 2023, when six people in military fatigues and carrying rifles entered the compound and opened fire. The killings came months after Degamo was declared the winner of a disputed vote, unseating Henry Teves, the brother of the ex-lawmaker.
Arnolfo Teves was later expelled from the House of Representatives after he refused to come home to face murder charges. He is the prime suspect in Degamo’s death.
