DOJ revives case vs. ex-Palawan guv

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

The DOJ in 2012 cited nearly 50 text messages between Reyes and Edrad, from December 2010 to January 2011. (PNA file photo)

MANILA – 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.

“The case has been archived for several years, now that he (Reyes) is under custody of the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) will be bringing him before the court where the case is pending,” Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon told reporters.

“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 inside an “ukay-ukay” (second-hand clothes) shop 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, accusing 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, the DOJ noted that Reyes’ phone sent out 16 messages to Edrad’s phone

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 SC 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 SC granted a motion by Reyes to transfer the trial from Palawan to the Quezon City RTC.