As NBI team comes home from Timor Leste sans ex-solon
The team of lawyers representing former Negros Oriental third district congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. vowed to exhaust all legal options to stop his return or deportation to the Philippines, including bringing his case before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
This developed as the team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that went to Timor-Leste following the arrest of the expelled lawmaker returned to the Philippines yesterday without Teves.
NBI Director Medardo de Lemos said a court in Timor-Leste is still verifying the request of the Philippines and the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol for the custody of the fugitive ex-solon.
Teves’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said their team met on Sunday to discuss other options, including bringing the alleged persecution of Teves before the UNCHR.
“One of the lawyers in Timor-Leste is a recognized expert on international human rights,” Topacio said, without identifying the lawyer who will handle Teves’ case before the UN body.
Topacio also revealed that Teves cannot be immediately deported, as his detention was extended by a Timor-Leste court “for another 15 days maximum, or the possible duration of the trial.”
According to Topacio, the Philippine delegation led by NBI Director de Lemos left Timor-Leste “after realizing that they would not be able to bring Mr. Teves home with them until after the trial.”
“Thus, contrary to the claim of (Department of Justice spokesman Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic) Clavano, neither deportation nor extradition is on the table at this point in the proceedings,” the lawyer stressed.
Topacio also alleged that efforts by the Philippine delegation to “harass and humiliate” Teves by having his picture taken while in detention “were thwarted” when the former lawmaker allowed two members of the Philippine delegation to talk to him.
But the lawyer said it was later discovered that the Philippine delegation tried to smuggle a phone with a camera inside the detention center.
“They were thus disallowed to visit,” Topacio said.
De Lemos refuted this claim later, which Teves’ lawyers said was an alleged effort to harass their client.
The case involving Teves’ request for political asylum was heard on Saturday and the only visitors allowed were the lawyers of the former congressman, a “close Filipino friend” pre-screened by the Timor-Leste authorities, and others upon the consent of the detainee.
Topacio said the trial will resume today, March 25.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice confirmed the arrest of Teves at a golf range in Dili on the same day.
Teves, who was also designated a terrorist by the government, is implicated, along with nine others, in the murder of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo.
Before his arrest, Teves, whose asylum request from the government of Timor-Leste was rejected, had been in hiding for about a year.
Teves’ apprehension “is a testament to the power of international cooperation,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a statement.
“It sends a clear message that no terrorist can evade justice and that nations stand united in safeguarding the safety and security of their citizens,” he added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has also already cancelled the passport of the ousted lawmaker before his arrest in Timor-Leste for murder charges.
Citing information from the Office of the Consular Affairs, Teves’ passport cancellation would be a “red flag” in all DFA consular offices within and outside the country.
The DFA said passport cancellations would be reported to both the Bureau of Immigration and to the Interpol office in the Philippines.
The Interpol office in the Philippines would then report this cancellation to Interpol headquarter which put the passport in its alert system in all international border controls, the DFA said.
“They have a process in Timor Leste, They are evaluating a request by Interpol and the Philippines,” De Lemos said in a report on 24 Oras Weekend.
“Timor Leste has its own process. What we are saying is we respect all the processes of all countries where the Philippines is a requesting party,” the NBI head added.
Led by de Lemos, a six-man NBI team earlier arrived in Timor-Leste to extradite Teves. The Timorese police initially refused, but later provided a photo of the legislator while in detention as a “proof of life.”
The NBI director said Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta himself approved of taking a “proof of life documentation” of Teves.
The NBI team paid a courtesy call to Ramos-Horta, who the agency said wants Teves to leave Timor Leste.
The bureau said they would have to wait for the proceedings in Timor-Leste to finish before they could bring the former congressman back to the Philippines.
Aside from the Degamo’s murder, Teves and others have also been charged with the deaths of three individuals in Negros Oriental in 2019.