The Court of Appeals (CA) has rejected the appeal of former Negros Oriental 3rd District Representative Arnie Teves, affirming two search warrants issued by a Manila court and allowing the evidence seized during their implementation to stand.
In a 32-page decision promulgated on April 8 by its Third Division, the appellate court ruled that Teves failed to show that the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 committed any grave error or gross misapprehension of facts when it denied his motion to quash the warrants and suppress the evidence.
The RTC warrants authorized searches for explosives, firearms, and ammunition allegedly stored at the residence of Teves and his sons in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental.
Teves had argued that the applicant, Stefanio Rabino, lacked personal knowledge of the facts stated in the application, rendering it hearsay. He also challenged the validity of the search, claiming that witness Gemuel Hobro’s statements were fabricated.
The CA dismissed these claims, noting that Rabino’s application was properly supported by Hobro’s testimony.
“Anent the claim that Hobro’s allegations were mere fabrications and perjuries, suffice it to say that this is a purely evidentiary matter and the petitioner was not able to prove that the respondent judge committed gross misapprehension of facts to warrant the issuance of a writ of certiorari,” the court stated.
The appellate court also rejected Teves’ contention that the search was invalid because officers searched his entire residence instead of limiting it to areas marked with an “X” on the sketch map attached to the warrant.
“In our view, the ‘X’ marks on the sketch map referred to in the search warrants served not as a limit to the internal scope of the search, but rather as a descriptive tool to identify the specific premises to be searched with particularity,” the CA said.
“Because the warrants authorized a search of the premises as a whole, the officers stayed within constitutional bounds,” it added.
On the seizure of items not listed in the warrant, the court ruled that such discoveries do not invalidate the operation.
“The unintentional and unexpected discovery of other items not mentioned in the search will not affect the legality of the search,” it said.
Teves is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation’s facility inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
He faces multiple counts of murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder in connection with the 2023 assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and several others.