FUGITIVE ex-Negros Oriental solon Arnolfo Teves Jr. was arrested while playing golf in the Timor Leste capital of Dili yesterday afternoon.
The news was confirmed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which said that the expelled congressman was nabbed while playing golf at the Top Golf Driving Range and Bar.
Teves, who was also branded as a “designated terrorist,” is now under the custody of East Timorese police pending his extradition to the Philippines. He currently faces charges for being the killing of a political rival in 2023.
“Today’s apprehension of Teves is a testament to the power of international cooperation. It sends a clear message that no terrorist can evade justice and that nations stand united in safeguarding the safety and security of their citizens,” DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a statement.
“The capture of Teves only proves that through concerted efforts and determination, terrorism can be thwarted and peace preserved,” the DOJ chief added, as he thanked the Philippine law enforcement team, the East Timorese police and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for “their relentless efforts in fighting lawlessness to [achieve] peace.”
Remulla likewise urged Teves to “face your long-delayed trial without setting any conditions, face the courts squarely.”
Teves became the subject of a “Red Notice” issued by the Interpol last month as the fugitive solon faces charges include murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder, for his alleged involvement in a brazen daytime killing of then-Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and nine others early last year.
Aside from the murder charges, Teves is also being charged with violation of gun-control laws and the killing of three more people from March to June in 2019.