DOJ seeks immediate deportation or extradition of Teves 'due to bribe reports'
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla asked the government of Timor-Leste to immediately deport or extradite detained former congressman Arnolfo "Arnie" A. Teves Jr.
The plea was aired on Thursday, April 18, after the Department of Justice (DOJ) received reports that the camp of Teves has been bribing Timor-Leste police for special treatment in and out of the country's Becora Prison where the expelled congressman is detained.
Teves was arrested last March in Dali, Timor-Leste's capital, on the basis of a red notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). He is currently undergoing court procedures based on legal rules of the arresting country.
Remulla told Teves: “Go home and face the Court squarely.'
“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 pointed out.
Elaborating on the alleged bribe, the DOJ said: “Reports said the son of Teves, Jr. offered a bribe to a member of the Criminal Investigation Police in the amount of $2,000 (over P114,000) in exchange for ‘security’ inside and outside Becora Prison, where he is being held while waiting for his extradition or deportation."
Teves, who had been designated as a terrorist in July last year by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), has been charged with 10 counts of murder, 12 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 51 over the March 4, 2023 shootings in Pamplona town.
The trial court had already issued an arrest order against him.