MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered a Palawan court to cause the re-arrest of former Palawan Governor Mario Joel Reyes over his involvement in the killing of environmentalist and broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega in 2011.

In an 8-page resolution dated March 29, 2023 but made public only Sunday, the high court also directed the Puerto Princesa regional trial court (RTC) to proceed with the murder case “with utmost dispatch.”

Ortega, who was also a veterinarian and program manager of the Philippine Ecotourism Palawan of the ABS-CBN Foundation, was shot in the head by a lone gunman on January 24, 2011 in San Pedro Village, Puerto Princesa City.

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He was a staunch critic of the then-governor and of mining operations in the island province, according to the statement released by the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines.

Implicated as mastermind in Ortega's killing, Reyes questioned the creation by the Department of Justice of a Second Panel of Prosecutors which eventually charged him with murder in court.

The Court of Appeals (CA) granted his petition but the RTC refused to recall the arrest warrant it issued against Reyes in 2012, because the CA ruling did not tackle the issue regarding probable cause and the issuance of an arrest warrant and neither did it order the dismissal of the case at the lower court.

Reyes again went to the CA in a bid to quash the arrest warrant against him and have the murder case against him dismissed.

The appellate court initially granted his petition in January 2018 but reversed its ruling in November 2018, reinstating the murder case against him and ordering the issuance of an arrest warrant.

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On appeal, the Supreme Court initially denied Reyes' petition but later issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the Puerto Princesa RTC from implementing its arrest warrant.

The new ruling from the high court’s First Division lifted the TRO and ordered the RTC to cause Reyes' re-arrest and detention, as it continues hearing the murder case.

SC RULING

In junking Reyes' appeal, the SC First Division said the RTC was correct in exercising its duty to determine probable cause after the murder charge was filed in court.

The RTC also correctly ruled that the earlier CA ruling that Reyes raised did not resolve the issue of probable cause. That CA ruling, the SC First Division pointed out, was eventually reversed by the high court.

“Petitioner failed to present any convincing evidence to show how the RTC abused, or acted in capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in denying the motions filed by petitioner and ordering the continuation of the criminal proceedings against him. There is likewise no showing that the trial court's power was exercised in an arbitrary and despotic manner,” the SC resolution said.

The high court added, the RTC was correct in finding probable cause against Reyes since there were witnesses who identified him as the mastermind in Ortega's killing.

“[T]he CA, like the trial court, found evidence on record sufficient to support a finding of existence of probable cause against petitioner. These include: [Rodolfo Edrad, alias Bumar] Bumar's statement implicating petitioner and others as the persons who masterminded the killing of Dr. Ortega; [Arwin] Arandia's statement that he was the person initially hired by Bumar to kill Dr. Ortega; [Denis] Aranas' statement similarly identifying petitioner [Reyes] as the mastermind of the killing of Dr. Ortega; and the admission of gunman [Marlon] Recamata that he was hired by Bumar's boss to kill Dr. Ortega,” it ruled.

SC also junked Reyes' arguments on admissibility and credibility of evidence, saying these are best resolved during trial.

ORTEGA FAMILY REACTION

In a statement, the Ortega family welcomed the ruling.

"Our family is thankful that the Supreme Court sided with truth and justice. We have long hoped and prayed for the trial to continue. This fair decision restores our faith that, one day, we will find justice,” it said.

Reyes ran for Palawan governor and lost in the 2022 elections. Comelec later disqualified him for being an escaped prisoner and a fugitive from justice when he fled to another country after his indictment for the murder of Ortega.

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Reyes and his brother Mario were arrested in Thailand in 2015 and deported back to the country.

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