DOJ: Teves must face cases in Phl

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will not recognize or acknowledge any effort to bring the case of expelled Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. before the United Nations rights body.

- DAPHNE GALVEZ

Teves’ counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, earlier said they would explore the former lawmaker’s legal options as he faces possible deportation from Timor-Leste, where he was arrested while playing golf after almost a year of staying in the Southeast Asian country, which had turned down his application for asylum.

Among the options Topacio raised was “bringing the persecution of Rep. Teves to the UN Commission on Human Rights,” saying one of Teves’ lawyers in Timor-Leste is a recognized expert in international human rights.

In response, the DOJ said it would not acknowledge any camp that “refuses to go through our own justice system.”

“The brutal crimes happened here in the Philippines. The families of the victims are here in the Philippines. So, we want justice to be served here in the Philippines,” DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said yesterday.

Teves, tagged as the mastermind of the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and his bodyguards as well as several civilians in March 2023, was arrested last March 21 in Dili.