Witness nails 2 ex-govs on Ortega slay

“The two of them, Governor Reyes and Governor Carreon, ordered me to kill Doc Gerry. Nobody else ordered the killing but the two of them,” Rodolfo Edrad Jr. kept repeating in Filipino during the interview.

Disappointment over a ruling by the Department of Justice (DoJ) that there was no probable cause to indict the alleged masterminds drove government witness Edrad to break his silence on Tuesday and insisted that his former bosses had a hand in the murder of journalist Gerry Ortega.

In an interview at a Makati City hotel, Edrad, alias “Bumar,” a security aide of former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes, alleged that Reyes and former Marinduque Gov. Jose Antonio “Bong” Carrion masterminded the killing of Ortega.

Both Reyes and Carreon were not immediately available for comment on Edrad’s allegations.

Edrad surrendered to authorities following the Ortega killing and confessed to have organized the team of hired killers who assassinated the broadcast journalist in Puerto Princesa City on Jan. 24.

A former Marine, Edrad said he decided to come out and say his piece because of lies spreading about him.

Brains is free

“I just want to clarify and tell the truth. I am the one telling the truth and yet I am being put in a bad light. They are putting me down,” Edrad said. “The one who was ordered to kill is being prosecuted, but the brains behind the crime is free. That’s not possible.”

A three-member DoJ panel which conducted a preliminary investigation on the murder complaint filed by the Ortega family against Reyes earlier ruled that there was no “probable cause” to indict Reyes despite the confession made by Edrad.

“I am saddened by the decision,” he said as he appealed to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to look into the case thoroughly and reconsider the previous ruling by the DoJ panel.

Edrad is now being held under the witness protection program. He is a suspect-turned-state witness after he confessed that he hired and financed the killer of Ortega.

Before he became Reyes’ bodyguard, Edrad had worked for Carreon until the governor lost in the 2010 elections.

“(Reyes) denied I was his bodyguard who was with him in womanizing, gambling, cockfighting, going to casinos. I was with him. I have a lot of evidence to prove this,” he said.

Edrad disclosed that it was Carreon who first talked to him about the plan to liquidate Ortega.

He said Carreon told him that he wanted to have some media persons killed but could not identify them because he was waiting for a budget. He said there were two media people as targets.

Edrad said that Reyes later asked him if Carreon had mentioned anything about Ortega.

He said Reyes wanted the killing to take place in December because of the fireworks. “Nobody will hear the gunfire,” he said.

Money from Reyes

Edrad said it was Reyes who gave him the money which he used to hire killers and to buy the gun used for the killing.

He added that Reyes also provided him with Ortega’s picture. He said that before that he did not know Ortega.

Edrad challenged Reyes to a lie detector test “to determine who between us is telling the truth.” He also said that he had also kept text messages in his cell phone before and after Ortega’s killing.

Edrad lamented that he and his family had been receiving threats but stressed that he was ready for any consequences he may face as a result of his revelation.

Edrad also sought forgiveness from the Ortega family as he vowed to do everything he could to achieve justice for them.