Teves ‘rearrested’ in Timor-Leste as DOJ awaits next steps

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

MANILA, Philippines — Expelled lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. has been rearrested by authorities in Timor-Leste.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, May 28, the former lawmaker’s son, Axl Teves, said his father was arrested by Timor-Leste authorities on the evening of Tuesday, May 27 (Manila time), claiming he was “kidnapped and abused.”

Teves’ legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, told Teleradyo that the individuals who apprehended Teves were immigration authorities.

In a separate statement, Topacio said the former lawmaker was arrested along with his Timorese lawyer, Joao Serra. Both are reportedly detained within the compound of the country’s Ministry of Interior. He also claimed there was no warrant for their arrest.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it has yet to confirm the reason for Teves’ arrest and is awaiting action from Timor-Leste authorities regarding the expelled lawmaker.

“While we welcome the recent pronouncements from Timor-Leste indicating a renewed position that Mr. Teves should not remain in their territory, we await their action—whether he would simply be deported for being an undocumented foreigner or extradited forthwith pursuant to our pending application,” the DOJ,  through its spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano, said in a statement. 

Clavano added the government is prepared to arrange the transfer of custody “by the most expeditious means.”

On Feb. 9, 2024, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 51 ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel Teves’ passport, citing the former lawmaker’s terrorist “designation” by the Anti-Terrorism Council. 

RELATED: DFA ordered to cancel expelled solon Arnie Teves’ passport

Timor-Leste leader wants Teves out

According to local reports in Timor-Leste, the country’s president, José Ramos-Horta, said it does not want Teves for reasons of national interest. 

“Regardless of all legal and constitutional considerations, there is one issue that all countries in the world observe, the national interest,” Ramos-Horta said in Portuguese during a press conference on May 27. 

“The national interest is what imposes, what determines and, in this case, we are not interested in someone of that nature, to prevent East Timor from becoming a paradise for all those who commit crimes in the region," he added. 

In March, Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla warned that Timor-Leste’s aspiration for ASEAN membership could be jeopardized if it refused to extradite individuals, emphasizing the Philippines' status as a founding member of the regional bloc.

Teves was arrested in Dili in March 2024. Although the extradition was approved twice, Timor-Leste’s Tribunal de Recursos later granted the former lawmaker’s appeal, effectively denying the Philippines’ extradition request.

RELATED: Philippines to Timor-Leste: ASEAN bid at risk over Teves extradition row

Charges against Teves. Teves faces multiple serious charges in the Philippines, particularly:

• Financing terrorism under the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act.
• Alleged masterminding of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo's assassination on March 4, 2023.
• A separate murder warrant linked to three deaths in Negros Oriental in 2019.

The former congressman fled the Philippines after Degamo's killing and has remained abroad despite an expired travel authority.