Palace to sack execs linked to Reyes brods' escape

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang wants government officials axed if proven to be behind the escape of former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother, Coron, Palawan Mayor Mario Reyes, who are wanted for the death of broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said two Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials had been removed because of what happened and that the investigation will continue.

“Those kinds of people must be removed because we are already in the straight path. We will not countenance any efforts to undermine the policies, the programs, advocacies of our President and of this administration. And, therefore, that is certainly an anomaly and that’s being investigated right now,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said President Aquino had imposed a bounty on the Reyes brothers to expedite their arrest. The reward is at least P1.5 million.

“We leave it with the investigating agency – either DOJ (Department of Justice) or BI – as to who should be responsible for this. What they did was really not acceptable,” Lacierda said.

 “It has clearly-assuming the evidence that there are really BI officials who aided them – then they should be held accountable because this system where you can just slip out of the country when you are ‘wanted’ cannot be allowed,” he added.

Lacierda said the killing of Ortega was a heinous crime that must be solved.

The BI said it had removed Wesley Gutierrez and Rodel Udarbe from airport duty and recalled them to the BI’s main office in Intramuros, Manila.

Gutierrez is the immigration officer who allegedly cleared Joseph Lim Pe, the name on the passport reportedly used by the former governor while a driver of Udarbe revealed that he was the one who fetched the Reyes brothers in Pasay City and took them to the airport. – With Evelyn Macairan