The Department of Justice (DOJ) called upon Timor Leste authorities for the immediate extradition or deportation of fugitive Arnolfo Teves, Jr. after receiving reports that the son of Teves, Jr. allegedly bribed a member of the Criminal Investigation Police (PCIC) in Timor Leste in exchange for a special treatment of his father while in detention.

Reports said the son of Teves, Jr.  offered a bribe to a PCIC member in the amount of $2,000 (over PHP114,000) in exchange for “security” inside and outside Becora Prison, where he is being held while waiting for his extradition or deportation.

Teves is currently in pre-trial detention at Becora Prison following his arrest in March by Timorese authorities acting on an INTERPOL red notice. He is wanted in the Philippines on charges of corruption, assassination, and suspected terrorism.

As a result, calls for the immediate extradition or deportation of Teves has intensified in Timor Leste to prove the international community that the country does not harbor international fugitives.

“Go home and face the Court squarely,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Boying Remulla advised Teves.  

“Let us stop playing hide and seek with the law, one cannot evade accountability for eternity. Prolonging your liabilities with the Rule of Law only worsens your predicament,” Remulla further said.