The Supreme Court has directed Palawan regional trial court to proceed with the trial of former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes for the 2011 murder of radio anchor Gerardo “Doc Gerry” Ortega, an environment protection and anti-corruption crusader.
Ina 21-page decision written by Justice Marvic Leonen, the high court’s Second Division noted that the Palawan RTC Branch 52 handling the criminal case had issued an arrest warrant against Reyes after a judicial determination of probable cause.
The high court underscored that “[o]nce the information is filed in court, the court acquires the jurisdiction of the case and any motion to dismiss the case of to determine the accused’s guilt or innocence rests within the sound discretion of the court.”
The issuance of the arrest warrants against Reyes and co-accused in March 27, 2012 “signifies that the trial court has made an independent determination of the existence of probable cause,” the high court added.
Division chair Justice Antonio Carpio and members Justices Arturo Brion, Mariano del Castillo Jose Mendoza concurred in the ruling.
The justices said it would be “more prudent to refrain from entertaining the petition considering that the trial court already issued a warrant of arrest against respondent.”
The justices were referring to the certiorari petition filed by the former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima contesting the decision of the Court of Appeals that annulled her creation of a second panel of prosecutors to reinvestigate the murder case.
The appellate court upheld the defense’s claim De Lima gravely abused her discretion when created a second panel to reinvestigate the case after the first panel refused to receive additional evidence that would have been crucial for the determination of existence of probable cause.
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The Supreme Court emphasized that the prudent course of action at this stage would be to proceed with the trial.
“[T]he trial court has already determined, independently of any finding or recommendation by the first panel or second panel, that probable cause exists for the issuance of the warrant of arrest against respondent. Probable cause has been judicially determined. Jurisdiction over the case, therefore, has transferred to the trial court. A petition for certiorari questioning the validity of the preliminary investigation in any other venue has been rendered moot by the issuance of the warrant of arrest and the conduct of arraignment,” the justices said.
Reyes and his brother, former Coron, Palawan mayor Mario Reyes, were arrested in Thailand in September last year. The two were tagged by a state witness, one of their former bodyguards, as masterminds in the murder of Ortega.
Ortega was shot dead near his veterinary clinic. CDG
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