FORMER Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. and two others were acquitted on January 5, 2026, by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 15 , in connection with a 2019 murder case in Negros Oriental.
Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, described the acquittal as “a clear demonstration that the cases filed against Mr. Teves were nothing but harassment suits intended to persecute a political opponent.”
Teves himself said, “There are many more battles left to fight for truth and justice. In this, we shall never waver until the last of these groundless suits are dismissed. For indeed, the wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.”
Teves, together with Richard Cuadra, and Rolando Pinili, were acquitted “for failure of the prosecution to establish a prima facie case.”
Teves still faces separate murder charges in connection with the 2023 attack that killed then-Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and nine others.
Degamo was shot at his home in Pamplona on March 4, 2023, by six armed men in military fatigues, months after he unseated Henry Teves, the former lawmaker’s brother, in a disputed election.
Arnolfo Teves was expelled from the House of Representatives after refusing to return to the Philippines to face murder charges. He was detained at a driving range in Dili, Timor-Leste in 2024, but a Timorese court blocked his extradition.
In 2025, however, Timor-Leste abruptly deported Teves, citing that his continued presence posed a security risk.
The latest acquittal marks a legal victory for Teves but highlights the ongoing, high-profile challenges he faces in politically charged cases.
