East Timor to deport an ex-Filipino congressman accused of masterminding a governor’s murder

DILI East Timor AP East Timor disclosed Thursday it would deport a former Filipino congressman charged with multiple murders in the Philippines and added that he was a national defense threat whose presence could damage the country s image ahead of its entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Ex-Rep Arnolfo Teves Jr was arrested in East Timor s capital of Dili on Wednesday by immigration executives and would forthwith be deported to the Philippines for staying without a visa and after his passport was cancelled by Manila s Department of Foreign Affairs the East Timor cabinet explained in a report East Timor did not forthwith specify a date for the deportation of Teves who has been staying in Dili for more than two years as he tried to seek asylum straining relations between the two Southeast Asian democracies The Philippines has been calling on East Timor to repatriate Teves to face trial The Department of Justice in Manila on Thursday welcomed East Timor s decision and revealed it has designated a band of justice and immigration officers to help repatriate Teves East Timor disclosed in a message that Teves presence in the country was unacceptable and his stay for more than two years poses a disruptive factor in bilateral relations between the two states and establishes a serious precedent with anticipated implications for internal safeguard 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 East Timor declared using the country s formal name The imminent full accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN scheduled for October this year further reinforces the responsibility of the Timorese state to actively collaborate with its regional partners in upholding justice legality and stability in the region according to East Timor East Timor President Jos Ramos-Horta described The Associated Press in an interview in Dili in September that there was no possibility under the law that Teves would be able to remain in East Timor and that he would likely be sent back to the Philippines after his appeal to gain asylum had been exhausted Teves has been sought by the Philippine governing body in connection with the March killings of Negros Oriental Gov Roel Degamo and several other people including impoverished villagers seeking clinical aid from him by men in military camouflage and body armor who barged into his central Philippine home with assault rifles At least others were wounded in the brazen attack which was captured on defense cameras Teves has denied involvement in the killings which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr who was backed by Degamo then called purely political East Timor Asia s youngest country is in the process of joining the Philippines and nine other countries in the ASEAN a regional grouping which espouses the rule of law and good governance It at the moment has observer status in the regional bloc Teves initial request to seek asylum in East Timor was rejected a decision which he appealed In March police arrested Teves while he was playing at a golf driving range in Dili and it s not right now clear how he managed to regain liberty before bring put into custody by immigration bureaucrats on Wednesday Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan in Jakarta Indonesia and Jim Gomez in Manila Philippines contributed to this overview Source