CA denies Arnie Teves’ appeal to quash search warrants

The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the appeal filed by former Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. to quash two search warrants issued by a Manila court against him and to suppress the evidence obtained during their implementation.

In a 32-page decision promulgated on April 8, the Third Division said Teves failed to prove that the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 did not meet the standards and committed gross misapprehension of facts when it issued two orders denying Teves’ motion to quash the warrants and suppress the evidence obtained during the implementation.

The RTC issued the warrants to search for explosives, firearms, and ammunitions that were allegedly being kept in the residence of Teves and his sons in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental.

In his appeal, Teves argued that Stefanio Rabino, the individual who applied for the warrants, lacked personal knowledge of the facts contained in his application, and that therefore the applications were based on hearsay evidence.

However, the CA held that Rabino’s application was appropriately supported by the statements of witness Gemuel Hobro.

“Anent the claim that Hobro’s allegations were mere fabrications and perjuries, suffice it to say that this is a purely evidentiary matter and the petitioner was not able to prove that the respondent judge committed gross misapprehension of facts to warrant the issuance of a writ of certiorari,” it said.

The CA also did not agree with Teves’ argument that the search was not validly conducted because his entire residential house was searched, instead of areas indicated with an “X” on the sketch map.

“In our view, the ‘X’ marks on the sketch map referred to in the search warrants served not as a limit to the internal scope of the search, but rather as a descriptive tool to identify the specific premises to be searched with particularity,” it said.

“Because the warrants authorized a search of the premises as a whole, the officers stayed within constitutional bounds,” it added.

Aside from this, the CA said that the seizure of items not described in the warrant does not render the whole seizure illegal.

“The unintentional and unexpected discovery of other items not mentioned in the search will not affect the legality of the search,” it said.

Teves is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation’s facility in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

He is also facing multiple counts of murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder over the alleged killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and others in 2023. — BM, GMA News