Timor-Leste Gov’t Rules To Send Former Negros Oriental Cong. Arnie Teves to PH
ARNIE TEVES – The Timor-Leste government has decided to deport the former Negros Oriental Congressman following his arrest.
Countless Filipinos were shocked when former Negros Oriental Congressman Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves was arrested in his residence in Dili, Timor Leste. He is the principal suspect in the death of the late former Governor Roel Degamo and nine (9) others.
On March 4, 2023, several men barged in the residence of the Degamos and launched their motive. The then-Governor is seen as the target. He was rushed to the hospital but he did not survive the incident. Several other people who were at the residence of the Degamos were left dead and injured by the attack.
Then Negros Oriental 3rd District Congressman Arnie Teves was tagged as the alleged mastermind behind the Degamo slay. However, he was already in abroad when his name was dragged into the issue. Amid the calls for him to return to the country and face the accusations, the politician refused to return to the country citing his safety as his concern.
The Degamos and the Teveses are political rivals in the province of Negros Oriental. The then-Gov. Roel Degamo defeated Cong. Arnie Teves’ brother, Pryde Henry Teves, in the gubernatorial race. The wife of Degamo, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, called for justice for the death of her beloved husband and several other people.
Recently, Axl Teves, the son of Arnie Teves, took to social media claims that his father was arrested in their residence in Dili, Timor Leste. The former Negros Oriental Congressman was nabbed by the immigration officers.
Based on a report on GMA News, the government of Timor-Leste has ruled to deport Arnie Teves back to the Philippines. The former Negros Oriental Congressman is in the country without a valid Visa and a legal authorization to stay.
The decision of the Timor-Leste government will take effect immediately as per the a statement released by the spokesman of the Southeast Asian nation government.
“The Government hereby informs that Arnolfo Teves Jr. will be deported from Timor-Leste by administrative decision of the Ministry of the Interior, as he is in the country without a valid visa, lacking legal authorization to remain, and holding a passport that the Government of the Philippines has cancelled,” the statement reads.
According to the Timor-Leste government, its ruling which is ordered to take affect immediately is based on national legislation regarding asylum and migration in the Southeast Asian country. It is also “grounded in the risks that this citizen’s continued presence poses to public order and national security”.
Department of Justice spokesman Mico Clavano said they will wait for the action of the government in Timor Leste regarding Arnie Teves. Based on the report, the Justice official stressed that they will only base their decisions and actions on what the foreign government will communicate to them about the case.
Following the arrest of Arnie Teves, late former Gov. Roel Degamo’s widow, Janice, gave a statement.