For the second time
The Timor-Leste Court of Appeal has cited the Philippines’ functional legal system in granting the country’s request to extradite former Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. for the second time.
In its 42-page ruling, the Timor-Leste Court of Appeal noted that the Philippine legal system is functional and safeguards the rights of the accused, debunking Teves’ claim that his guilt had been prejudged by Filipino authorities.
“The allegation of the facts imputed to the extraditee (Teves) … did not constitute a prior judgement of these facts, nor an attempt to demonstrate to the Timorese State that the extraditee is guilty and will be sentenced, which would be pointless since the trial has not even taken place in the Philippines,” the Timor-Leste court said.
The account was only intended to comply with the formal requirements of the extradition request and does not weaken the extraditee’s right to defense, which in these proceedings is limited to discussing the verification of the formal requirements of the request and the extradition conditions, the court added.
“What’s more, Philippine law provides for the presumption of innocence and safeguards the rights of defense in the proceedings that take place there,” the tribunal said.
The foreign court also noted that over the years, the Philippine government has granted extraditions and requested others that have been granted.
It cited the case of Spanish-Filipino citizen Francisco Larrañaga who was arrested in the Philippines in 1997 for allegedly kidnapping, raping and killing two sisters, and was sentenced to death in 2004.
With the abolition of the death penalty in 2006, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, and was extradited to Spain to continue serving his sentence in 2009.
It likewise cited that in 2002, Muslim leader Nur Misuari, a Filipino national, was deported from Malaysia to the Philippines. He was paroled in 2008.
Kerwin Espinosa, an alleged drug trafficker, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates and extradited to the Philippines in 2016, it added.
“For all the above reasons, we believe that the requested extradition should be granted,” the Timor-Leste Court of Appeal said.
With the Timorese Court’s ruling, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is hoping that Teves would soon be extradited back to the country to face the charges against him, considering that this was the second time that the court has ruled in favor of the Philippine government.
Teves is facing multiple murder cases for his alleged involvement in the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine others.
“Pangalawang pagkakataon na ho ito, at parehas pa rin ang desisyon nila kaya hindi natin, we do not expect na mag-iiba pa po yung decision ng (This is already the second time, and their decision remains the same, so we do not expect a different decision from the) Court of Appeal ng (of) Timor-Leste,” DOJ Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said in a statement Friday.
The DOJ earlier said that Teves was given 30 days to file an appeal.
“We are coordinating with the Timor-Leste officials, our counter-parts, to see whether they still have the right of appeal. The mechanics are unfamiliar to us, that’s why we have engaged a counsel from Timor-Leste to help us through the whole process,” Clavano said. (PNA)
