Former Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves, Jr. was transferred to a detention facility of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila on Friday morning, May 30, 2025. 

Teves, the alleged mastermind in the killing of ex-Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, was earlier held at the NBI office in Manila, said a report of GMA News Online. 

Teves was presented to members of the media at around 10 a.m. on May 30, 2025, prior to his transfer to Bilibid.

The report on GMA News Online said that earlier, NBI Director Jaime Santiago explained that Teves will be transferred to the BuCor facility because the NBI has no detention facility in its office in Manila.

“Pinahiram sa amin ang Building 14 kung saan lahat ng detainees ng NBI doon inilalagay pero distinct and separate sa BuCor,” he said, the report added.

Teves is back in the Philippines after being deported by authorities in Timor-Leste where he sought asylum. When asked during the NBI presentation as to why it took him long to face squarely the allegations based on his claim that his “conscience is clear,” Teves said that he fears for his life in the Philippines. 

“My concern is my life, my security,” Teves said.

When asked whether he is ready to face congresswoman-elect Janice Degamo, he replied: “Wala naman problema. I mean I can face anybody.”

Outgoing Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, congresswoman-elect in the district that Teves had represented, and widow of slain Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, in a post said that  “God is good all the time! Justice will prevail!”

“For the first time in more than two (2) years Arnie Teves is back in the Philippines in the custody of the NBI. I will never stop fighting until all those who suffered at the hands of the Teves Terrorist Group receive the justice they deserve,” Degamo added. However, she said it is  “appalling to hear Topacio continuously refer to Teves as a “trophy” for the Marcos administration.” 

“Let’s set the record straight, this is not about politics, this is about justice. Calling Arnie Teves a “trophy” is a slap in the face to the families of the many innocent people killed by the Teves Terrorist Group, including my husband, Governor Roel Degamo. These weren’t political casualties, they were sons, daughters, husbands and wives, brutally taken from their loved ones,” Degamo said.

“Instead of turning every issue into a political drama, Atty. Topacio should focus on what truly matters, explaining why at least two of the gunmen who murdered my husband directly named his client as the mastermind. That is what the people of Negros Oriental and the entire country deserve answers to. We will not be distracted. We will not be silenced. We will see this through,” she underscored. 

(via GMA Integrated News, Congresswoman Janice Vallega Degamo/FB, Eleanor Valeros)