Sandra Cam, president of the Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
Amid the arrest of the Reyes brothers in Thailand and their subsequent return to the Philippines on Friday, a whistleblower dared Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to explain why the fugitives were able to flee the country in the first place.
“She should explain why the two brothers were able to escape under her nose,” Sandra Cam told Radyo Inquirer 990 AM on Friday.
It was Cam who exposed in 2012 that brothers former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and former Coron mayor Mario Reyes were able to escape from the Philippines with the help of agents from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) despite a watch list order.
READ: 2 immigration men aided Reyes brothers’ escape
The two were allegedly behind the murder of environmentalist and broadcaster Gerardo Ortega in January 2011.
Cam said she approached De Lima to inform her about the escape of the fugitives but the justice secretary was “so angry” with her expose.
Cam recalled that De Lima even raised her voice and asked, “Sandra, bakit ka ba nakakikialam diyan (Why are you meddling, Sandra)?”
According to her, the justice secretary did not act on her expose even if the BI was under the control of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Walang nagyari. Walang naging aksyon si De Lima dito (Nothing happened, De Lima did not act on it),” she said.
Cam revealed that De Lima had deep ties with the Reyes brothers being the election lawyer of the two former politicians.
“’Di po natin maaalis na ang puso nga niya ay nandiyan po sa dalawang magkapatid because of her relationship being the Comelec lawyer of the family and the family friend to the Reyeses (We cannot deny that she is allied with the brothers because of her relationship as a Comelec lawyer and family friend to the Reyeses),” she said.
She said she is happy that the Reyes brothers were brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City and not at the national Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is under De Lima’s watch.
READ: Reyes brothers in Ortega killing arrested in Thailand | Reyes brothers taken to Camp Crame after arrival from Bangkok
“I am so happy. I feel vindicated,” Cam said.
Cam said she was a friend of De Lima’s until their friendship turned sour when the justice secretary didn’t listen to Cam and started to lie about the escape of the Reyes brothers.
“Secretary De Lima, I don’t have a personal grudge on you. Ang pakiusap ko sa ‘yo ay maging fair ka (My only request is for you to be fair),” she said.
“I will fight this issue until the end,” she added.
The Reyes brothers were arrested by the police in Phuket, Thailand, on September 21. The two arrived in the Philippines on Friday morning and were immediately brought to the Camp Crame in Quezon City. Nestor Corrales/IDL