Dilly-dallying in arrest of Joel Reyes
The continued freedom the Reyes brothers—Joel, former Palawan governor, and Mario, mayor of Coron, Palawan—enjoy despite a warrant of arrest against them is not surprising.
I heard from the grapevine that the brothers are related to a relative of President Noy by affinity.
Under our extended family system, family ties are not only established through blood relations but also by marital or baptismal affinity.
The godfather of one’s child, for example, is considered family; the uncle-in-law of one’s married daughter is welcomed as a family member.
The reason the Reyes brothers were exonerated by the first probe panel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) was probably because of their relations by affinity with the President.
But the family of broadcaster Gerry Ortega, who was killed in Puerto Princesa City last year, had been persistent in seeking justice. The Reyes brothers had been linked to the murder.
Pressure from the media and the public made the second DOJ probe panel reverse the decision of the first panel.
The second panel recommended that Joel Reyes et al be charged with murder.
But it took its time filing the case in court.
The delay in the filing of the case and the issuance of the arrest warrant gave Joel and Mario Reyes enough time to escape and become fugitives of justice.
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It’s hard to take the cudgels for the Reyes brothers. Things are bound to surface somehow.
Asked why the Aquino administration had to give an ultimatum to the Reyeses to surrender, instead of ordering their arrest based on the court order, President Noy’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda’s answer was a dead giveaway.
He said: “It’s maybe out of deference for his (Joel Reyes) being a former governor, and hopefully that as a government official, he will be responsible enough to face the courts and surrender voluntarily.”
So what if Joel Reyes was a former governor?
Wasn’t Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now under detention on the nonbailable charge of electoral fraud, a former President of the Republic?
Why was there no hesitation on the part of the Aquino administration in bringing Gloria before the bar of justice, while it dilly-dallied in arresting Joel Reyes?
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As Joel Reyes’ former friend and drinking buddy, I advise him to surrender and face the music.
The more he hides from the law, the more the public will suspect that he is guilty.
To quote Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, his former lawyer in an electoral protest filed against him by an opponent: “Flight is indicative of guilt.”
On that score, I tip my hat off to De Lima for being fair and objective in handling the Ortega murder case.
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I mentioned my erstwhile close friendship with Joel Reyes because I feel a tug in my heart and a stab of pain in the pit of my stomach while writing this piece.
Old ties are hard to put aside.
I always attended his birthday parties in the past and so did he whenever I marked a milestone.
I once advised him to stop flirting with a woman government official who had a very jealous husband.
But my close ties with Joel had to be cut because I love my job as a journalist more than I love my friends, and even my relatives.
Yes, I firmly believe Reyes was behind Ortega’s murder.
