• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Justice is coming. The long wait is almost over.
That was the reaction on the deportation from Timor Leste of expelled Representative Arnolfo “Arnie’ Teves Jr., by Negros Oriental 3rd district Representative-elect Janice Degamo, widow of the late Governor Roel Degamo, who was murdered with nine others on March 4, 2023.
The Timor Leste government on Wednesday said it has decided to deport Teves. In a statement, the Timor-Leste government said it considers the presence of Teves a “threat to national security and interests.”
Teves was fetched by a Philippine Air Force aircraft at Dili Airport in Timor Leste, on Thursday.
After more than two years in hiding, he is finally being brought back to the Philippines to face justice, said in her Facebook account.
“The Government of Timor-Leste has recognized what we have long known to be true, that the continued presence of Arnie Teves in their country compromises regional peace, security and the rule of law,” Degamo said.
Thanking the Timorese authorities, the late governor’s widow said “ this is not just a legal issue, it is a moral one.”
Teves has lived in Timor-Leste for over two years and has been engaged in a legal battle with the Philippine government to prevent his return.
Degamo disclosed earlier that she is looking forward to facing her dismissed predecessor, Arnolfo Teves, in court, to bring justice to the killing of her husband, and nine other victims.
The airplane carrying the former lawmaker left Timor-Leste past 2:40 p.m. on May 29.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told reporters that Teves is now under the custody of the Philippine government.
And we’ll bring him home so he can face the charges. We will bring him home so he can face all the allegations against him, Remulla said.
We waited two years for this to happen, and we thank the Lord that this is it, this is the reckoning we’ve been waiting for, and he really must face the charges against him, he added.*
