No one seeks to claim P4M reward for Reyes brothers’ capture

The Thai police presents the arrest of former politicians Joel Reyes (seated, right) and his brother Mario (seated, left). (Photo from the Bureau of Immigration)

MANILA – With no one seeking to claim the P4-million reward for the arrest of former Palawan governor Mario Joel Reyes and his brother, former Coron mayor Mario Reyes, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has been trying to contact the still unidentified person who provided information on the fugitives’ residence in Phuket, Thailand.

“The information about the Reyes’ brothers was initially fed to our CRMC. This is a CIDG unit, which receives complaints or referral or any matter that need police action.

It receives a lot of information every day,” CIDG director Chief Superintendent Victor Deona said in a Philippine Star report, adding that CIDG investigators have been trying to re-establish contact with the unnamed informant.

The Reyes brothers each had a P2-million bounty for allegedly masterminding the death of journalist and environmentalist Gerardo Ortega in 2011.

According to the Task Force Tugis, the Reyes brothers went to Bangkok, Thailand on March 2012 – a year after Ortega was murdered.

Joel traveled with the name Joseph Lim Pe, along with his lawyer.

Mario, on the other hand, used his real name and followed hours later.

With the Reyes brothers now back in the Philippines, the Palawan Regional Trial Court Branch 52 has set their arraignment for murder on Friday, September 28, 2015.