The country said it would deport a former Filipino congressman charged with multiple murders in the Philippines and added that he was a national security threat whose presence could damage the country’s image ahead of its entry to Asean.
Ex-Rep Arnolfo Teves Jr was arrested in Timor-Leste’s capital Dili on Wednesday by immigration authorities and would immediately be deported to the Philippines for staying without a visa and after his passport was cancelled by Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs, the Timor-Leste government said in a statement.
Teves has been staying in Dili for more than two years as he tried to seek asylum, straining relations between the two South-East Asian democracies.
The Philippines has been calling on Timor-Leste to repatriate Teves to face trial.
The Department of Justice in Manila welcomed Timor-Leste’s decision yesterday and said it has designated a team of justice and immigration officials to help repatriate Teves.
Timor-Leste said in a statement that Teves’ presence in the country was “unacceptable” and his stay for more than two years “poses a disruptive factor in bilateral relations between the two states, establishing a serious precedent with potential implications for internal security.
Teves has been sought by the Philippine government in connection with the March 2023 killings of Negros Oriental Gov Roel Degamo and several other people, including impoverished villagers seeking medical aid from him, by men in military camouflage and body armour who barged into his central Philippine home with assault rifles.
At least 17 others were wounded in the brazen attack, which was captured on security cameras.
Teves has denied involvement in the killings, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who was backed by Degamo, then called “purely political”. — AP
