Palace: Gov't implemented law in return of Arnie Teves to PH

The deportation and eventual extraction of former Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves, Jr. was an enforcement of the law, Assistant Secretary Erel Cabatbat of the Presidential Communications Office said Friday.

“Kami po ay nagpapatupad lamang ng batas at ginawa lang po namin ang aming tungkulin. Hindi po ako privy sa naging usapan, pero maaring nakatulong po ang ginawang pakikipag-ugnayan ng ating Pangulo sa Presidente at Prime Minister ng Timor,” Cabatbat said.

Malacañang was asked to comment on the statement of Teves’ son, Axl, questioning the extraction given that the Philippines did not have an extradition treaty with Timor-Leste.

(We are just implementing the law, and we just did our job. I am not privy to everything that happened, but I would say the communication between President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and East Timor Prime Minister  Xanana Gusmão.)

Cabatbat also disputed the accusation of Teves’ son that the former lawmaker was kidnapped by authorities.

“We have differing opinions, and we respect the opinion of his son. But what happened is the enforcement of the law. There are arrest warrants for him, and we need to serve them, and so we need to bring him back home,” Cabatbat said.

Teves is facing murder charges in connection with the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and several others last March 4, 2023 in his residence in Pamplona, Negros Oriental, among other murder charges.

“This is the natural flow of the rule of law. It has been frustrating to some degree, but the Justice department, as well as the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration, kept at it. The process took a while, pero noong nabigyan po tayo ng pagkakataon para maipatupad ang ating batas ay ginrab po natin ito, with both hands and we’ve never let go,” Cabatbat said. –NB, GMA Integrated News