THE Department of Justice (DOJ) said that expelled Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo Teves will be brought back to the Philippines in July to face criminal charges even if his camp appeals the Timor-Leste Court of Appeals’ decision granting the Philippines’ extradition request against the former lawmaker.
“If by Monday, magfa-file na sila…Hopefully by end of next week meron na pong desisyon. Binibigyan kasi sila ng 30 days para mag-file,” DOJ spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
“So if they exhaust the 30 days, which we anticipate they will do, then it will be after the filing we will see kung ano ang magiging desisyon ng [Timor-Leste]. Court of Appeals. Around the last week of July makikita na natin si Ginoong Teves dito sa Pilipinas,” Clavano said.
The DOJ said that Teves’ camp has 30 days to appeal the decision of Timor-Leste’s appellate court.
Teves’ lawyer, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, earlier said that they would appeal the grant of extradition request by the Philippine government.
Moreover, Topacio said Teves could not yet be extradited since there was a pending political asylum application.
The DOJ, however, said that the expelled legislator’s application for political asylum had already been rejected twice.
Clavano said the Philippine government’s extradition case was strong since the arguments of the Teves camp were “hindi naman talaga totoo.”
The DOJ spokesperson said Teves was not politically persecuted in the Philippines and that his worries over facing the death penalty in the country were not true.
“We do not have a death penalty here in the Philippines. We also have had certain reforms and efforts in human rights, protection of human rights,” Clavano said.
