SC: Re-arrest former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes, resume trial for Gerry Ortega slay
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has ordered the re-arrest of former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and the continuation of his trial for the 2011 murder of broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega, a development that the family said helps restore their faith in the justice system.
In a resolution in late March that was made public over the weekend, the Supreme Court said Reyes failed to show proof that the Puerto Princesa City Regional Trial Court abused its jurisdiction in ordering that his trial continue.
"Petitioner's disagreement with the conclusions reached by the trial court, without more, is not sufficient to warrant the issuance of the extraordinary writ of certiorari," the Supreme Court said.
"Such writ will issue only to correct errors of jurisdiction, not errors in the findings or conclusions of the lower court," it also said.
The Court of Appeals dismissed the charges against Reyes in 2018 but reversed its decision in 2019 and issued another warrant for his arrest. Convicted of graft in 2017, Reyes was supposed to remain in government custody despite the CA's initial 2018 decision to drop the charges.
Matters best settled at trial
The Supreme Court said the CA and the RTC found that there was enough evidence, including statements identifiying Reyes as the alleged mastermind in the shooting of Ortega, to find probable cause.
It said that "this particular stage of the criminal proceeding against petitioner requires neither absolute nor moral certainty; opinion and reasonable belief is already sufficient" and that questions on the evidence would be best threshed out in trial.
The SC has directed Puerto Princesa Regional Trial Court Branch 52 to "cause the immediate re-arrest and detention" of Reyes and to continue with the criminal proceedings against him over the killing of Ortega.
Reyes ran for governor of Palawan in the 2022 elections, lost and ruled in January 2023 to have been disqualified from running in the first place for being "a fugitive from justice."
Ortega, an environmentalist and broadcaster, had been a vocal critic of mining projects and of alleged corruption in the province. He had just finished his program on DWAR Palawan on January 24, 2011 when he was shot in a thrift store in Puerto Princesa's Barangay San Pedro.
"Our family is thankful that the Supreme Court sided with truth and justice. We have long hoped and prayed for the trial to continue. This fair decision restores our faith that, one day, we will find justice," the Ortega family said in response to the SC ruling.
Gerry Ortega is killed by a gunman in San Pedro Village after finishing his daily radio program on DWAR Palawan.
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