Expelled Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr., was arrested in Dili, Timor-Leste, on Tuesday night, May 27.
In a Facebook post, his Son Axl Teves confirmed the arrest in a video and claimed that his father was kidnapped and abused.
“My father has been kidnapped and abused! Please help me make this post go viral… We need help!!!” the younger Teves wrote.
“We believe that they are doing the same thing as they did to Tatay Digong, the former president of the Philippines,” he said in the video, claiming that his father's arrest resembled the treatment of former President Rodrigo Duterte
Moreover, in a video posted on Axl's account, the former representative also appeared, stating, “We are being held against our will. They are not letting me go.”
In a statement confirmed on DZRH by his legal counsel, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, Teves was taken into custody by immigration officers at 8:00 p.m. (Timor-Leste time) at his residence, along with his Timor-Leste-based lawyer, Dr. Joao Serra.
Topacio said that both men were taken and detained inside the compound of the Ministry of the Interior.
"No warrant or any written authority was shown to Mr. Teves and Dr. Serra as to the cause of detention," Topacio stated.
According to local media outlet hatutan.com, the former congressman was forcibly taken by immigration police and brought to the central offices of the Timor-Leste Immigration Service.
Teves, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in 2023, is the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice.
The expelled representative has been accused as the mastermind behind the brutal killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and nine others on March 4, 2023.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also pursued his designation as a “terrorist” under the Anti-Terrorism Council’s Resolution No. 43 (2023).
Despite a previous decision by Timor-Leste’s Court of Appeal in March 2025 denying an extradition request from the DOJ, Teves now finds himself in custody.
As of now, Timor-Leste authorities have not released any official statement on the arrest or the following steps regarding Teves' detention and possible extradition.
