Surrender, ex-Palawan governor told

Former Palawan Governor Joel T. Reyes INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo on Wednesday called on former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes and his mayor-brother to surrender and face charges in the 2011 murder of environmentalist-broadcaster Gerardo “Doc Gerry” Ortega.

Robredo said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that he preferred that Reyes and Mayor Mario Reyes be taken in custody without resistance than be hunted down as fugitives.

“I would rather that ex-Governor Joel Reyes and Mayor Mario Reyes et al. surrender,” Robredo said in a text message. “I will order a manhunt if they don’t.”

Policemen waited for six hours for the chance to pounce on Reyes inside posh Dasmariñas Village in Makati City where he lives.

“It seems the governor wasn’t at his house,” one operative said, shortly after deciding to call off the operation to arrest Reyes in his home.

The operatives, who asked not to be identified, headed back to headquarters to regroup and map out a more elaborate plan to corner Reyes.

The agents had believed Reyes was in his Dasmariñas Village house because the former governor had been seen on several occasions in Makati City.

The arresting team would have escorted Reyes to a detention facility for processing. One veteran in the group said stakeouts like that mounted for Reyes required a lot of patience.

One other member of the team said the operatives didn’t want to force their way into Reyes’ house to avoid legal problems later.

“What we need is a clear visual on the target before we move in,” said one operative.

A police source in the Palawan capital, Puerto Princesa City, said Reyes’ exact location had been determined by authorities who were preparing to serve him the warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 52 Judge Angelo Arizala.

Others tagged in the case have been arrested shortly after the warrant was issued. On Tuesday night, lawyer Romeo Seratubias, former provincial administrator of Reyes, was arrested by agents of the Criminal Investigation Division Group (CIDG).

Reyes was indicted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the basis of the testimony of his former bodyguard, Rodolfo Edrad Jr., who had confessed to having organized the assassination of Ortega and claimed he did it at the behest and instruction of Reyes.

Edrad’s testimony was at first rejected by the first DOJ  panel but this was reversed by the new panel, which also accepted additional evidence from the prosecution, including records of text messages between Reyes and Edrad before and right after the Ortega murder.

Gun owner

Seratubias was the registered owner of the gun that was used to kill Ortega.

Also wanted is the former governor’s younger brother, Mario, the incumbent mayor of Coron, Palawan, and two personal aides of the former governor.

The younger Reyes was reported by the Coron police to have left town to visit an ailing relative in Manila two weeks ago.

At the Palawan capitol, officials were mum over the arrest warrant for the former governor. Governor Abraham Kahlil Mitra, who replaced Reyes, earlier expressed support for his predecessor and ordered Masses celebrated for the now wanted man.

Representative Antonio Alvarez, of northern Palawan, called on Mitra to help turn Reyes in.

Mitra, Alvarez said, “cannot just keep silent on this case now or drop him (Reyes) like a hot potato.”

“He had come out several times to publicly defend Joel Reyes even if it was improper for him to do, being governor of the province. He should come around and help convince Reyes to submit to the rule of law,” Alvarez told the Inquirer.

Mitra had backed Reyes’s defense at the investigation of the DOJ, claiming in an affidavit in Reyes’ defense that the former governor had no motive to have Ortega killed.

Wheel of justice

Reyes’ chief legal counsel said he was unaware where the former governor was or if Reyes was going to turn himself in.

“I have already explained the process to him,” said lawyer Demetrio Custodio. “But I don’t know what his decision is.”

Custodio said Reyes’ camp was awaiting legal relief from the Court of Appeals.

A statement released on Wednesday by the Ortega family said they were happy that “finally the wheel of justice is moving.”

“This is just the start of a long journey to justice,” the family statement said.

Ortega, a staunch critic of Reyes and Mitra, was gunned down inside a used clothes store on Jan. 24, 2011. The alleged assassin, Marlon Recamata, was captured immediately and later confessed that his group was hired for the hit job for P150,000.

Interviewed in Manila, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she hoped the judge who issued the arrest warrant would issue a hold-departure order as well to prevent Reyes from fleeing the country.

“I am certain that the family of Ortega feels a bit more secure now that the arrest orders have been issued because this will limit the opportunity (of the accused) to evade justice,” De Lima said in a text message to the Inquirer.

“The next step now is the arraignment and we hope that the trial of this case (will) proceed smoothly,” De Lima said. With reports from Miko Morelos and Marlon Ramos