Former Palawan Governor Mario Joel Reyes (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) is asking the Supreme Court (SC) to have former Palawan governor Mario Joel Reyes rearrested by lifting the March 23, 2022 temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Puerto Princesa City regional trial court (RTC) which stopped it from enforcing Reyes’ warrant of arrest.
Reyes, along with his brother and eight other suspects, were charged with the murder of one of his staunch critics in Palawan, broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega, who was gunned down in a thrift shop near his veterinary clinic in this city on Jan. 24, 2011. Reyes is also running for governor of Palawan in the upcoming elections.
In a motion contained in its 64-page comment, the OSG reiterated that the Puerto Princesa RTC’s warrant of arrest against Reyes is “supported by legal and jurisprudential basis rather than arbitrary and unfounded conclusions.”
“And there is now a finding of strong evidence of petitioner’s guilt, there is no invasion — much less a material and substantial invasion — of petitioner’s right should he be ordered re-arrested and should the proceedings in Criminal Case No. 26839 (Reyes’ criminal case) continue,” the OSG added.
“For these reasons, including the relevant arguments raised earlier in the Comment, respondent People most respectfully moves for the lifting of the TRO issued by this Honorable Court,” the OSG further said.
This comment was made after Reyes received a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court on March 23 against a warrant of arrest issued by a Palawan court in July 2021 in connection with Ortega’s murder.
However, the OSG stated that Reyes was not entitled to a TRO or a writ of preliminary injunction because his constitutional rights were not violated during the trial court and CA proceedings.
“A TRO or a writ of preliminary injunction may be issued upon the concurrence of the following essential requisites, to wit: invasion of the right sought to be protected is material and substantial; the right of the complainant is clear and unmistakable; and there is an urgent and paramount necessity for the writ to prevent serious damage,” the OSG said.
“As an accused charged before the trial court, there is no dispute that petitioner has the constitutional right to due process. However, petitioner’s right to due process has not been violated nor will it be violated by his re-arrest and by the continued prosecution of Criminal Case No. 26839,” it pointed out.
The OSG further stated that the RTC had “clear basis” for the warrant of arrest against Reyes, adding it “has, in turn, been affirmed by the Court of Appeals in its decision dated July 9, 2021.”
“With due respect to this Honorable Court, these consistent findings by the RTC and the Court of Appeals superseded and mooted the issue of probable cause,” it added.
Ortega was killed by a lone assailant. The arrested gunman, Marlon Recamata, was sentenced to life in prison.
Recamata admitted that he was hired to kill Ortega by Rodolfo Edrad Jr., a former close-in security of Reyes.
The gun recovered from Recamata was also registered to a certain Romeo Seratubias who served as provincial administrator when Reyes was then governor of Palawan.
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