QUEZON CITY – Former Negros Oriental 3rd District Representative Arnulfo Teves Jr. has not been accorded and will never be accorded any special or very important person (VIP) treatment, the Department of Justice (DOJ) assured.

Teves, who is facing multiple criminal charges, including the assassination of former Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo in 2023 and other murder cases in 2019, is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) detention facility inside the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) compound in Muntinlupa, pending a court decision on where to detain him.

He was deported from Timor-Leste after his arrest on May 27 in the country’s capital, Dili.

The former lawmaker was brought in a bulletproof vehicle to the NBI detention facility and was made to wear a bulletproof vest and a Kevlar helmet during the transfer.

“Right now, he is under detention at an NBI prison facility, which just happened to be in BuCor kasi nga ay ginagawa ‘yong building ng NBI sa Taft,” Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

“Hindi siya bibigyan ng special treatment na uunahin ‘yan. Kasi kahit may ibang pobreng i-de-deliver din diyan, parehas naman silang deprived of liberty ayon sa docket ng ating korte at ayon sa docket ng ating Constitution,” the justice official assured.

Vasquez lauded the cooperation between Timor-Leste and the Philippines in the eventual deportation of the former solon.

“Legal naman ang pag-aresto kay Teves,” he said.

The Timor-Leste government said it decided to deport Teves as his presence is a “threat to national security and interests, poses a disruptive factor, and could damage the country’s image before its entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.”

It also said, “The perception that Timor-Leste might be viewed as a refuge for individuals fleeing international justice undermines the integrity of our borders and our shared efforts to combat transnational crime.”

Vasquez assured Teves that he would also be given all the rights of the accused as well as due process, emphasizing that the country’s judicial system is at work and functioning.

📷 Saturday News Forum, NBI