THE DOJ still cannot tell when former Congressman Arnie Teves, who is facing multiple charges due to the death of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and others in March 4, 2023, will be brought back to the country.
However, according to Justice Spokesperson Asec. Mico Clavano, the PH Government’s extradition request for Arnie Teves has been approved by the Ministry of Justice of Timor-Leste.
The extradition request is now pending before the Court of Appeals of Timor-Leste.
“Preparations are underway. We are waiting for the Court of Appeals in Timor-Leste because our request has been passed by the Ministry of Justice to the CA. The process there involves our extradition request undergoing screening by the Ministry of Justice. It has been approved and our extradition request has been forwarded to the Court of Appeals,” said Asec. Mico Clavano, Spokesperson, DOJ.
The DOJ is hopeful that by the next few weeks, CA’s decision on their request will be out.
“We need to wait patiently for the decision of the Court of Appeals because that territory is not ours. We will just have to abide by the direction and decision of the CA, but our timeline there is in the next few weeks, we hope, that the decision of the CA of Timor Leste will be out,” Clavano added.
DOJ confident environmental case vs China will conclude soon
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues its preparations for the environmental cases to be filed against China.
According to Attorney Clavano, they are hopeful that with the assistance of the Office of the Solicitor General, they will be able to finalize the complaint against the said country in the coming weeks.
“The coordination between the DOJ and the Solicitor General’s office regarding these environmental cases is ongoing. We need to strengthen all evidence, which must be attached to our complaint. However, we are confident that in a few weeks, our complaint and the attached evidence will be finalized,” he stated.
