PROSECUTORS are set to revive the case against former Palawan governor Joel T. Reyes in connection with the killing of broadcaster Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega, a Department of Justice (DoJ) official said Thursday.
Reyes surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on September 11.
“The case has been archived for several years; now that he (Reyes) is under custody of the NBI, we’ll be bringing him before the court where the case is pending,” Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon told reporters.
Former Palawan Governor Joel T. Reyes.
“The case will be revived, taken out of archives, and the court will set it for arraignment and pre-trial once the return of the warrant against Reyes has been made by the NBI,” he added.
Reyes was indicted for the 2011 killing of Ortega, a critic of Reyes’ mining activities and alleged corruption in the province.
The radio commentator and veterinarian was gunned down near his clinic in Barangay San Pedro, Puerto Princesa City, on Jan. 24, 2011.
One of the suspects, Rodolfo Edrad, surrendered and turned state witness. He accused Reyes of masterminding the slay.
The DoJ in 2012 cited nearly 50 text messages between Reyes and Edrad, from December 2010 to January 2011.
While out of the country on the day of the attack, Reyes’ phone sent out 16 messages to Edrad’s phone, the DoJ said.
His brother, former Coron mayor Mario Reyes Jr., and three others were likewise indicted.
The Reyes brothers disappeared but were arrested in Phuket, Thailand, for overstaying in September 2015.
In March last year, the Supreme Court ordered the Puerto Princesa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 52 to “cause the immediate re-arrest and detention” of Reyes and likewise ordered the court “to continue with the (criminal) proceedings with utmost dispatch.”
In December, the high court granted a motion by Reyes to transfer the trial from Palawan to Quezon City.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on Thursday welcomed the surrender of Reyes.
“The NUJP remains vigilant and will continue to stand with Doc Gerry’s family, friends, and supporters as we wait for the trial and the resolution of this decade-long case,” the group said.
PNA
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