NBI: Legal process sets back Teves’ return

National Bureau of Investigation Director Medardo De Lemos gives an update on the NBI mission to get former Congressman Arnulfo Teves back in the country during a press conference on Monday, March 25, 2024 in Quezon City. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

Ongoing legal proceedings following the March 21 arrest in Timor-Leste of Arnolfo Teves Jr. have left the National Bureau of Investigation with no choice but to return to the country without the expelled Negros Oriental lawmaker.

At a press conference on Monday, NBI Director Medardo de Lemos said they must respect Timor-Leste’s judicial process, which could take between seven and 40 days, as the Philippine government sought to take custody of Teves, who had been linked to the murder last year of his political rival Roel Degamo and the killing of three other people in Negros Oriental in 2019.

Last month, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla confirmed that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) had issued a red notice on Teves, whose armed group had been designated by the Anti-Terrorism Council as a terrorist organization.

“It’s a major victory for us to have located Congressman Teves and to have him arrested by the local authorities,” De Lemos said.

READ: NBI chief: Trip to Timor-Leste to see detained Teves a ‘challenge’

The NBI, he said, is awaiting any move from Teves’ legal team in Timor-Leste before they can work on his deportation.

Earlier, Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, said his client should first be turned over to a Timorese court while the Philippine government makes an official request for his return. The court will then decide on that request.

No mug shot, fingerprints

De Lemos discussed the agency’s mission to Timor-Leste starting on March 21 to coordinate with local authorities on implementing Interpol’s red notice on Teves.

“Two hours after we landed, we engaged with them and they said Congressman Teves had been apprehended,” De Lemos said.

He said “challenges” arose initially in verifying Teves’ identity and in securing proof of his arrest.

Mug shots and fingerprints were not taken by Timorese authorities upon Teves’ arrest, the NBI chief noted.

He said that after asking Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, the NBI on March 23 obtained permission from Timorese authorities to photograph Teves.

He said Teves expressed fear about returning to the Philippines as “something bad might happen to him.”

The NBI team assured Teves of its commitment to the Timorese president, “that nothing bad will happen to you, if you come back to the Philippines.”

De Lemos described Teves’ physical condition as “matipuno” (healthy and strong). —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ