After refusing to enter any plea when he attended his arraignment, the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) entered a “not guilty plea” for former Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo Teves, Jr.
The court also directed that Teves be transferred from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detention facility to the Manila City Jail, following his arraignment.
Before the MRTC Branch 12 presided by Judge Renato Enciso, Teves is facing charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives when such were reportedly found during a raid by authorities in his home in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental.
Accopanied by Atty. Joey Lomangaya and Atty. Rafael Andrada, Teves did not enter any plea during his pre-trial and arraignment, prompting the court to enter the plea for him.
Teves is also facing 10 counts of murder, 13 counts of frustrated murder and four counts of attempted murder at the Manila RTC Branch 51, apart from one count of murder at the Manila RTC Branches 12 and 15 and also before the RTC Branch 63 in Bayawan, Negros Oriental, aside from his case of terrorism before Quezon City RTC Branch 77.
Teves is primarily being accused as the brains behind the shooting deaths of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and ten others in March 2023, in addition to a 2019 killing where he also stands as accused.
After the Degamo incident, Teves flew to Timor Lesta and was deported to the Philippines on May 29, 2025. His legal team’s request for the hearing on his cases to be done via video conferencing was declined by the court.
