CA upholds validity of search warrants issued vs Teves
The Court of Appeals has affirmed the legality of the search warrants for firearms and explosives in the house and fighting cocks farm of former Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. in Bayawan City three years ago.
The appellate court’s Third Division, in an April 8 decision, junked the petition for certiorari filed by Teves questioning the warrants that resulted in the seizure of firearms and ammunition found in his house in March 2023.
In denying the petition, the CA said that Presiding Judge Renato Enciso of the Manila Regional Trial Court’s Branch 12 did not commit grave abuse of discretion when he ruled in August 2025 and October 2025 that the search warrants were valid.
It noted that “no exhaustive search outside the bounds of the search warrants [were] conducted” and the discovery of more firearms and ammunition in cabinets inside Teves’ residence cannot be deemed a product of an “unreasonable search.”
The search warrants stemmed from a complaint that Teves possessed firearms and ammunition in violation of Republic Act No. 10591, as well as explosives, in violation of RA 9516. Also included in the charges were his sons Kurt Matthew, a former provincial board member, and Axel.
Incriminating statement
The charges were based on the sworn statement of Gemuel Hobro, who claimed to have worked for Teves as a member of his “liquidation squad” in addition to being a collector and worker in the former lawmaker’s small town lottery operation. A verification conducted by the Philippine National Police also showed that Teves’ license to own and possess firearms had been revoked.
Among the firearms seized during the search were an M-16 rifle, an AK-47 rifle, an MK2-type hand grenade, assorted firearm magazines and live ammunition.
Teves, in his petition, had argued that Hobro’s allegations were “mere fabrications” that “misled” the judge in finding probable cause for the issuance of the warrants.
But the CA, in its 32-page decision, said: “The veracity of the statements and the credibility of Hobro as a witness are better assessed by the trial court, especially considering that the case below is still in its early stages, and, to reiterate, cannot be corrected by a writ of certiorari.”
Premature
“If indeed, Hobro’s statements were not true, the petitioner should present the necessary evidence to rebut his statements and duly offer them into evidence during the usual course of criminal procedure,” it added.
Teves had also insisted that the search executed by the police officers was invalid because they looked through the entire house, which he claimed was beyond the areas specified in the sketch map of the warrants.
But the appellate court said the seizure of items not indicated in the warrant “does not render the whole seizure illegal.”
Law enforcement officers should be given discretion in implementing warrants, it stressed, saying that “to abandon the contraband because it was not exactly described in the search warrant would pose a greater risk to public safety.”
“Indeed, the execution of a search warrant necessitates a meticulous search for evidence of a crime,” it added.
Teves is currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology compound in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, as he faces other charges, including the 2023 killing of former Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and several others.
