It will not be too long before wanted former lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. would return to the Philippines.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Saturday also said “that the government of Timor-Leste does not want the fugitive “to stay longer” in their country.
Teves fled the Philippines last year after he was tagged as the alleged mastermind behind the murder of late Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, who was shot to death in a compound in March 2023.
DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta mentioned that it will not be too lang before he (Teves) will go home.
“I don’t think that the President of Timor-Leste wants him (Teves) to stay longer,” Clavano, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said.
The DOJ expects extradition operations against Teves to start in the coming weeks, after Pope Francis’ visit in the southeast Asian nation.
“There is a papal visit happening [in Timor-Leste] from September 9 to 11,” the DOJ spokesperson said, adding that: “We hope to execute the operation right after the papal visit… That will depend on the authorities of Timor-Leste.”
The government earlier released a statement, saying that Timor-Leste’s Court of Appeals has denied Teves’ request to reconsider his extradition.
But the former lawmaker’s legal counsel labeled the announcement as “fake news.”
Teves’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said in a separate news briefing dismissed the government’s statement.
“Ang lumabas ay stay order. Nalito si Totoy (Clavano). That’s the problem when you send a boy to do a man’s job,” Teves, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said.
Teves’ camp has repeatedly asserted that the Negrense politician fled the Philippines to avoid political persecution.
In February, the DOJ said it received an order from a Manila court for the immediate cancellation of Teves’ passport as the court ruled that the former lawmaker is “indeed a fugitive from justice” whose right to travel can be restricted in the interest of public safety.
