'Ortega slay brains known soon'

MANILA, Philippines - Police are now trying to unmask the mastermind in the murder of Palawan radio broadcaster Gerry Ortega.

Puerto Princesa police director Superintendent Rolando Amurao said the identities of the people involved in the killing, from the gunman to the owner of the gun, “have been established.”

Ortega was shot in the head while shopping in a clothing store in Puerto Princesa City on Monday shortly after he finished his daily broadcast.

The alleged gunman, Marlon Ricamata, was apprehended while trying to flee the scene.

Police said they are tracking the identities of the men who approached Ricamata to do the job, as well as the supposed mastermind.

The murder weapon, a .45 caliber pistol, was seized from Ricamata. The gun was later traced to Romeo Seratubias, former administrator of the provincial government of Palawan, who claimed he had already sold the gun.

Ricamata later admitted that he and another accomplice, who remains at large, had been contracted to kill Ortega to stop his criticism of unnamed powerful people.

Police have filed murder charges against five suspects that included Seratubias, Ricamata, Dennis Aranas, who acted as the lookout; Noel Armando, who contacted the gunman; and a certain Bumar, who allegedly provided the funds for the assassination.

Amurao said a certain Nonoy Regalado has come forward and confessed to buying the gun used in the assassination of Ortega.

Regalado added that he merely followed the instructions of Bumar.

“Regalado met Bumar, said to be an aide of former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, during a cockfight. Both are cockfighting aficionados,” Amurao said.

He said Regalado had requested police custody.

Although the common denominator of the people involved in the murder was Reyes, Amurao said the information was not enough to implicate the former governor in the crime.

As this developed, a group of environmentalists launched a nationwide anti-mining campaign aimed at gathering 10 million signatures against mining operations in the province.

The Save Palawan Movement spearheaded the campaign.

With Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn and ABS-CBN Foundation head Gina Lopez, the anti-mining campaign was launched to highlight the crusade left by Ortega.

Ortega was a known critic of mining in Palawan, taking to task mining companies and pro-mining politicians on his local radio program “Ramatak” in RMN Palawan.

Former Brooke’s Point vice mayor Mary Jean Feliciano said it had been a habit for most residents to listen to Ortega’s daily radio program.

The town of Brooke’s Point is where a protected landscape is located. The town became controversial because mining had been allowed in the supposedly protected area.

The town of Española is also in danger because of the ongoing applications for mining in the area.

Communities in Narra, Quezon, and Bataraza are also in danger due to ongoing mining operations with legal permits issued by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.

There are currently more than 300 mining applications for the province of Palawan.

Hagedorn said he was saddened by the loss of his close friend Ortega.

“The murder of Gerry Ortega was a great loss to us, not only for my family but the whole province as well,” he said.

Lopez, meanwhile, urged the people to remember Ortega and his crusade to protect the environment.

“To the people of Palawan, Gerry’s with us now. And this is his final wish. I ask each and every one of you to say no to mining. We want your signatures, and we want you to go out and get hundreds and hundreds more. Let your voices be heard. If we work together, there is nothing in the world that can stand in our way,” Lopez said.

Organizers will be going around Palawan and Metro Manila to gather the 10 million signatures.

Running priest Fr. Robert Reyes, also a friend of Ortega, promised to run in Palawan by February to help gather signatures for the campaign.

Ortega’s daughter Mika, who also works in ABS-CBN Foundation, issued a challenge to fellow Palaweños to sign the petition.

Mika said she pitied those who murdered her father, adding the attackers “are not capable of loving.”

Mika said the petitioners would show those   responsible for her father’s death that they will rise above all this because they know how to love their community.

“We should continue where my father had left off and sustain the crusade,” she said. - With Rhodina Villanueva