Timor-Leste did the right thing in turning down Teves, says Romualdez
House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)
Saying it made the right call, House Speaker Martin Romualdez is praising the government of Timor-Leste for denying Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr.'s request for political asylum. "They are correct in denying [the request]. So maayos talaga ang ginawa ng Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste really did the proper thing). They are on solid ground," Romualdez told Manila-based reporters Wednesday night, May 10 on the sidelines of the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia. Incidentally, Timor-Leste is an ASEAN observer-country. A few days ago, Teves, who is tagged as the mastermind of the March 4 assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, sought asylum in Timor-Leste. The request was promptly denied, with Teves told to leave the country within five days. "I wouldn’t be surprised if he would just acknowledge and thank the Timor-Leste leader for the action taken by his government because that is the right course of action," Romualdez said, referring to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. who he is accompanying in Indonesia for the summit. "President Marcos is one who is very, very respectful of protocol and processes, due process," he added. "Obviously it has come to the knowledge of the government of Timor-Leste that there are indeed pending charges and more allegations...they are aware that when he (Teves) left the country that these weren’t apparent," Romualdez further said. Teves left the Philippines on Feb. 28, a few days before Degamo was gunned down outside his home. The Negros Oriental lawmaker has since ignored calls from Romualdez for him to come back home and face the allegations against him.