Gov’t offers P100K reward for ex-Palawan governor arrest

The government has offered P100,000 for the capture of former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, the identified mastermind in the murder of broadcaster Gerardo “Gerry” Valerio Ortega.

Ortega was gunned down in Puerto Princesa City in 2011 shortly after his morning radio broadcast. He also received death threats through text before his death.

He was a staunch critic of allegedly corrupt local officials in Palawan and opposed mining projects in the province.

Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, Presidential Task Force on Media Security executive director, said the reward money came from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

Reyes fled the country in 2012 with his brother current Coron Mayor Mario Reyes. They were arrested in Thailand in 2015 but posted for bail in 2018.

They ran for office in the 2022 election, but Reyes lost as governor.

The Supreme Court this year ordered the re-arrest of Reyes, who is also facing separate charges at the Sandiganbayan in connection with the Malampaya and fertilizer fund scams. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News