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Wanted for broadcaster’s murder, ailing ex-Palawan gov Joel Reyes surrenders to NBI

POLITIKO | politiko.com.ph

September 12, 2024

Joel-Reyes - POLITIKO

By Nancy Carvajal

Former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, who is tagged in the 2011 murder of broadcaster Gerry Ortega, surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday (September 11), Politiko learned.

An Iskooper knowledgeable about the negotiation told Politiko that Reyes’ legal counsel from the Custodio Acorda, Sicam de Castro, Brillantes law office facilitated his surrender.

“Reyes is now confined at a hospital in the National Capital Region due to an auto immune disease,” the Iskooper said, adding that the booking process for an arrested person—including taking mugshots and fingerprinting— was done inside the former governor’s hospital room.

Ortega was a staunch critic of mining projects in Palawan. He was shot dead in Puerto Princesa City shortly after hosting his morning radio show.

Reyes and his brother, incumbent Coron Mayor Mario Reyes, fled the country in 2012 after being implicated in the killing. They were arrested in Thailand in 2015.

In 2018, the Court of Appeals dismissed the murder charges against Reyes. However, it reversed its decision in 2019 and issued a new warrant for his arrest.

Apart from the Ortega murder case, Reyes was convicted by the Sandiganbayan in 2017 for the anomalous renewal of permit of a small-scale mining company in 2006.

Reyes ran for Palawan governor in 2022 despite his criminal record but lost.

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