EX-PALAWAN GOV IN JOURNALIST’S MURDER SURRENDERS

FORMER  Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes tagged as the primary suspect in the killing of a broadcast journalist in the province on Wednesday voluntarily surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) National Capital Region (NCR) office.

The surrender was confirmed by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) on Wednesday night.

The PTFoMS and the NBI have yet to release details of the surrender.

Reyes was the primary suspect in the murder of  broadcast journalist  and environmental activist Dr. Gerry Ortega, who was a well-known critic of local government corruption .

Ortega was gunned down at a thrift shop in Puerto Princesa on January 24, 2011. 

Prior to the shooting, Ortega had just completed his morning radio program, during which he often criticized politicians, including Reyes, whom he accused of corruption and permitting the exploitation of Palawan’s forests and minerals.

The former Palawan governor, along with his brother, current Coron Mayor Mario Reyes, left the country in 2012. They were arrested in Thailand in 2015.

The Court of Appeals then ruled in favor of the former governor in 2018, but the Appellate Court’s ruling was reversed a year later, which resulted in the revival of the trial. 

In 2023, a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Puerto Princesa, Palawan issued an arrest warrant against Reyes.Palawan RTC Branch 52 Presiding Judge Angelo Arizala signed the arrest warrant on July 20, 2023, after the Supreme Court First Division released its March 29, 2023, ruling ordering to re-arrest Reyes and the subsequent resumption of the murder trial.