Topacio hopeful Teves would secure political asylum in Timor-Leste

EXPELLED Negros Oriental rep. Arnolfo Tevez’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio expressed hope that the congressman would be able to secure political asylum or refugee status in Timor-Leste.

This, after the Philippine government wants him deported to face multiple charges, including murder in the killing of former Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo on March 4, 2023. Topacio also believed his client was a victim of political persecution.

Teves was also designated a “terrorist” by the Anti-Terrorism Council in August 2023, which allowed the Anti-Money Laundering Council to freeze his assets.

“He is not being prosecuted in the normal process. He is being persecuted with the end view of pinning him down, notwithstanding the constitutional guarantees of the presumption of innocence,” Topacio said in the ANC interview.

Teves was placed under the custody of the Timor-Leste police after he was arrested in April in the capital Dili while playing golf.

The government is trying to have him deported to the Philippines.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier urged Teves to return to the Philippines voluntarily, saying: “Let us stop playing hide and seek with the law, one cannot evade accountability for eternity.”