Teves transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa jail

MANILA, Philippines — A Manila court has ordered the transfer of expelled Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. to the Metro Manila District Jail at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.

In a decision dated June 9, the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 51 denied Teves’ motion to keep him in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Teves has been detained at the NBI facility in Muntinlupa since he was deported from Timor-Leste on May 28.

NBI Director Jaime Santiago previously ordered the warden of the bureau’s detention facility to wait for  commitment orders from the courts handling the cases of Teves.

Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer for Teves, pointed out that a separate directive from the Manila RTC Branch 11 dated May 30 ordered Teves’ transfer to the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, creating a possible legal conflict.

The transfer order came after Teves was arraigned on June 5 before RTC Branch 12, wherein the court entered for him a plea of not guilty to charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Teves is also facing 10 counts of murder, 12 counts of frustrated murder and four counts of attempted murder in connection with the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and 10 others in Pamplona, Negros Oriental in March 2023.