Teves deportation sought after son ‘bribed’ Timorese cop

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) is urging Timor-Leste authorities to extradite or deport expelled congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. after his son allegedly bribed a member of the Timor-Leste police.

The DOJ cited reports that Teves’ son offered a member of the Criminal Investigation Police (PCIC) $2,000 or over P114,000 in exchange for “security” inside and outside Becora, where the former lawmaker is being detained while waiting for extradition or deportation.

“Go home and face the Court squarely,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a statement yesterday, addressing Teves.

“Let us stop playing hide and seek with the law, one cannot evade accountability for eternity. Prolonging your liabilities with the rule of law only worsens your predicament,” he added.

The DOJ did not disclose the name of Teves’ son, but the expelled congressman is known to have two sons, Kurt and Axl.

The DOJ cited a report from Hatutan.com, an online news outlet in Timor-Leste.

According to the report, a PCIC member asked Teves’ son for $2,000 in exchange for providing maximum security for Teves, who is considered a fugitive.

The article stemmed from a WhatsApp communication between the PCIC member and Teves’ son accessed by Hatutan.

Teves, tagged as the mastermind behind the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo in March 2023, is currently in pre-trial detention at Becora Prison after he was arrested last March 21 while playing golf in Dili.

His arrest was based on the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)’’ red notice issued against him in February, which is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.

Teves has been designated a terrorist along with 11 others by the Anti-Terrorism Council due to alleged killings and harassment in Negros Oriental.

After being linked to the Degamo assassination, Teves went into hiding, prompting the House of Representatives to vote for his expulsion in August last year.

The government subsequently canceled his passport, while Interpol issued an international red notice for Teves’ provisional detention pending turnover to the state seeking his arrest.