Mika
At 22, most young ladies worry about zits, fashion, boyfriends and possibly making money. But not Mika Ortega, the eldest child of slain Palawan commentator, Doc Gerry Ortega. She has put her own life on hold until the mastermind behind her father’s murder is apprehended or at least exposed. If not justice, at least the truth.
Doc Gerry is the 142nd in the roster of media practitioners killed since 1986. Three more have joined the ranks of unsolved or partially-solved cases. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility has recorded 171 killings of Filipino journalists — 116 were work-related. 78 of these occurred during the Arroyo administration which jumped to 113 in November 2009 after 32 journalists were massacred in Maguindanao.
Mika is determined not to let her father’s death become one more forgotten statistic. His was a passionate voice for the preservation of Palawan, brutally silenced by unknown powers-that-be. Doc Gerry was not just fighting the mining interests that threatened the biodiversity of a UN-declared World Heritage Site. He was also a vocal advocate against the reported plunder of Palawan’s Malampaya billions.
On June 8, 2011, DOJ Panel of Prosecutors issued the following resolution: “Wherefore this Panel of Prosecutors finds probable cause for the murder against Rodolfo O. Edrad Jr., Armando R. Noel, Dennis C. Aranas, and Arwin Arandia. The complaint as against Gov. Mario Joel T. Reyes Jr., Atty Romeo M. Seratubias, Arturo R. Regalado and Percival B. Lecias is dismissed for insufficiency of evidence. The motion for issuance of a Gag Order is denied.”
What is notable in this case is that Sec. Leila de Lima recused herself as she was the lawyer of Reyes’ past electoral protest. It is surprising that the three persons named for probable cause are all from Quezon Province, indicating that they were the hired help. So once again, the brains behind the crime remains a mystery. Like many of the other cases, the ones who ordered the murder got away with it. DOJ should not consider its job as done, while the real conspirators are still free.
Curiously, there was a request for a gag order from the defendants that was fortunately denied. This set the presses rolling.
Reyes lauded the DOJ panel’s decision as the wheels of justice grinding “exceptionally well.” Then he issued a stern warning to those who tried to malign his name.” Those who have planned this nefarious deed will have their day of reckoning. Those who have plotted to unjustly destroy us, those who have perjured themselves and manufactured evidence, and who have tried to use the justice system to perpetrate this foulest of deeds, shall rue the day when they contrived this evil scheme. We shall expose them for who they really are, so that they will never again deceive anyone, anymore, at any time,” said Reyes in a press statement.
Failing to get the gag order, the PR machinery of Reyes, allegedly under veteran publicist Reli German, began an offensive to clear his name and point to other possible “suspects”. Like a well-conducted chorale, columnists began to sing so obviously from the same hymnbook. One writer wrote a constant refrain 6x, in support of Reyes while three others echoed and re-echoed behind him. Eight more swelled the chorus for a resounding defense.
The lyrics were eerily similar. Six recurring themes were as follows:
(1) Coincidences: Why was there a fire truck? Why were there CCTV cameras? Why were there two police officers near the bank? Why was the investigation fast? The fallacious argument is one of a grand conspiracy theory to frame Joel Reyes. Do they really believe that the CCTV cameras were installed on that particular day, to catch this particular crime?
(2) Reyes is against Mining: He signed a 25-year moratorium banning small-scale mining in Palawan. But this was after he was gravely criticized by environmental groups for the many small-scale mining contracts he had already previously approved. He has always been deemed pro-mining in his years of “service” as governor and head of PCSD.
(3) Reyes is the friend of Doc Gerry: The family shudders at this claim.
(4) Edrad’s credibility is doubtful: Out of the blue, an old murder case against Edrad, which had been archived in Lucena since 2007 was re-filed in April 2011 without a preliminary investigation. This was to reinforce the argument that “if he lied about this (case), therefore he must be lying about the murder of Doc Gerry.” Another classic fallacy.
(5) Percival Lecias’ statement was allegedly forced by NBI: Lecias admitted buying the gun from Atty. Seratubias and giving it to Nonoy Regalado who gave the murder weapon to the hit team. This was attested to in a statement which he subsequently recanted. Lecias’ mother issued her own statement saying that her son was lying when he claimed to have been forced by authorities.
Afraid for his life, Lecias had surrendered willingly to the NBI. He could have left after the preliminary investigations, but chose to stay for further protection. Then he filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights, bearing witness to a supposed bribery. He points to Mayor Hagedorn and Jose Alvarez as the perpetrators. Exactly what the bribe was for is yet another puzzler. For perspective, Percival Lecias is the photographer of Fems Reyes, the wife of Joel.
(6) Other masterminds: Mayor Edward Hagedorn and Jose “Pepito” Alvarez: The purported motive was political gain. Hagedorn and Alvarez would come out as saviors and heroes and “demolish” other opponents, thus dominating the political arena. Doc Gerry was simply a sacrificial lamb.
At 22, no one should have to carry this kind of burden. Mika has dedicated the rest of her young life to unearthing at least the truth, if justice proves too elusive. Solving the murder of Doc Gerry Ortega might be the first step towards ending the impunity that surrounds the extrajudicial killings of Media professionals.
The biggest tragedy would be for the bereaved to lose all hope for fairness and righteousness in the aftermath. With much courage, Mika takes comfort from those who have supported her quest for resolution, choosing to see a ray of light in the piercing darkness. She writes, “I already have so much to be thankful for, that glimpse of the sun is a great gift for me in my clouded horizon.”
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