Donors sweetened the pot; bounty for Reyes’s info now P1.2 M

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—The reward for information leading to the capture of the Reyes brothers of Palawan has increased from the P300,00 first announced by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo last Monday to P1.2 million, with more pledges from private donors expected to come in.

Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn said that on top of the reward announced by Robredo, the city government would be setting aside P500,000 to match a new pledge of P400,000 made by private donors coursed through the family of slain broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega.

“At first we were committed to raise P250,000 in additional reward but we were encouraged by the snowballing of public pledges so we decided to double our commitment. This is also the least we can do to help Gerry’s family in their search for justice,” Hagedorn told the Inquirer on Wednesday night.

The family of the late broadcaster said they were also validating additional pledges that have been made, including small amounts ranging from P200 to P500 raised through the social networking site Facebook.

“We have been told of additional pledges from private donors but would like to confirm them yet before making an announcement. Let’s just say that we expect the reward money to hit beyond P1.5 million,” said Patria Ortega, the wife of the slain journalist.

Earlier, Robredo said the reward was put up after the government determined that former Palawan governor Joel Reyes had no intention of submitting to an arrest warrant issued by Palawan Judge Angelo Arizala when the murder case was filed against him and his brother, Coron Mayor Mario Reyes.

All of the accused implicated in the January 24, 2011 murder of Ortega have been accounted for except for the Reyes brothers and another former Capitol employee and personal aide of Reyes, a certain Valentin Lecias.

Lecias, according to investigators, has already sent surrender feelers.

Ortega, a radio commentator who anchored the primetime daily commentary of Radio Mindanao Network Palawan, was a vocal critic of Reyes and the provincial government whom he accused of misappropriating royalties received from the Malampaya gas project.

He was gunned down by a hired killer, who was immediately captured and whose confession led to the identification of the other suspects, including former staffers at the provincial capitol and Reyes’ bodyguards and personal aides.

The Department of Justice, in filing murder charges against Reyes and his co-accused, reversed an earlier ruling made by a DOJ panel and indicted the Reyes brothers and the others following a review of the case and receipt of additional evidence filed by Patria Ortega.