The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) on Thursday expressed optimism that the 2011 killing of Puerto Princesa City broadcaster Gerardo “Doc Gerry” Ortega will soon be resolved following the surrender of former Palawan governor Joel Reyes.
“This a very good development, considering that Reyes is among the high-profile suspects in the government’s list of those wanted for the murder of the members of the press,” PTFoMS executive director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez said in a statement.
Reyes, the alleged mastermind behind the killing of Ortega, surrendered to authorities on Tuesday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Metro Manila.
Reyes was indicted for the murder of Ortega, a staunch critic of mining activities and alleged corruption in Palawan during the term of the former governor.
Gutierrez said Reyes would remain in the hospital closely guarded by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, pending the court’s decision on Ortega’s case.
“His decision would not only afford him the opportunity to present his side but also, gives fresh hope to the Ortega family and other human rights advocates that their quest for justice would not be in vain,” he said.
Reyes and his brother, incumbent Coron Mayor Mario Reyes Jr., fled the country in 2012 after arrest warrants were issued against them. They were arrested in Phuket, Thailand for overstaying in Sept. 2015.
Separate from his murder case involving Ortega, the Sandiganbayan in 2017 found Reyes guilty of corruption and sentenced him to a maximum of eight years imprisonment for allegedly giving favors to a mining company. The Sandiganbayan also perpetually barred Reyes from further holding any public office.
Reyes, through his legal counsels, appealed both convictions before the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Supreme Court.
In 2018, the CA ruled in favor of the Reyes brothers, in connection with Ortega’s murder case, enabling both of them to run for public office in the 2022 elections.
In March 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the CA’s findings and ordered Branch 52 of the Puerto Princesa Regional Trial Court (RTC) to proceed with the trial and the issuance of an arrest warrant against Reyes who immediately went into hiding.
Despite being a fugitive, the SC, in a separate resolution later in the year, granted Reyes’ motion to transfer the venue of his murder trial to Metro Manila, particularly at the Quezon City RTC.
Judge Renato Pambid of Quezon City RTC Branch 76 is set to hear the case, after receiving the complete docket of the case from the Puerto Princesa RTC. (PNA)