MANILA, Philippines — Expelled Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. has been ordered released from house arrest by the Timor Leste tribunal conducting extradition proceedings relative to the request made by the Philippine government.

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said, however, that Teves has been imposed certain conditions for his release, including regular reporting to a court officer and a commitment not to leave Timor Leste while the extradition case is pending.

"This validates our earlier report that Mr. Teves was not re-arrested but was simply taken into judicial custody purely for purposes of attending the extradition hearings, and that the release of Mr. Teves from Becora Prison was not procedural as the [Department of Justice] would have us believe, but a final ruling," Topacio said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Teves is facing 10 counts of murder, 12 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 51 in relation to the March 4, 2023 shootings in the town of Pamplona in Negros Oriental.

He is also facing multiple murder charges in Negros Oriental in connection with a series of killings that took place in various parts of the province in 2019.

Teves was designated as a terrorist in August 2023 by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).

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