At the rate state witnesses in the murder of environment activist Gerry Ortega are ending up dead, there may be no one left to pin down those accused of ordering his murder. Dennis Aranas was found hanging with the strap of a shoulder bag around his neck last Tuesday in his cell at the Quezon provincial jail. Or at least this was the story given to his relatives by jail authorities.
Aranas was tagged as the lookout when Ortega was gunned down in Puerto Princesa, Palawan in January 2011. On Sept. 11 last year, state witness Percival Lecias also died in police custody. An infected wound was blamed for the death. Lecias was reportedly the one who helped obtain the caliber .45 handgun used in the murder.
In Aranas’ case, the purported suicide cannot be verified because police investigators were not immediately brought to the scene of death and relatives saw his body already at the morgue.
The triggerman in Ortega’s killing, Marlon Recamata, is under arrest and has said he was paid P25,000 for the hit by a man who described the victim as a vile person. Former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother Mario, mayor of Coron town, were implicated in the murder but denied involvement. Both are on the run and have left the country.
All over the world, crucial witnesses in crimes are typically targeted for neutralization. This is why witness protection programs have been developed in many countries including the Philippines. The program, however, can use more resources in this country where justice moves at glacial pace and a witness may need state protection for a decade. Several witnesses in the 2009 massacre in Maguindanao, where the accused brains are wealthy and still wield political influence, have also been killed.
The full story behind the killing of Gerry Ortega has not yet been established, and the deaths of state witnesses can only make justice more elusive. Authorities will need to do a better job of protecting witnesses.