FOR 13 years now, the government has been looking for former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, alleged mastermind in the 2011 murder of Puerto Princesa broadcast journalist and environment activist Gerardo Valeriano “Doc Gerry” Ortega.
To refresh our readers’ memory, Doc Gerry Ortega was a radio broadcaster and commentator who criticized corruption in Palawan during Reyes’ term as governor. He was gunned down in Puerto Princesa in January 2011.
Malacañang is offering a P100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the former Palawan governor. The amount would come from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, according to Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS).
Gutierrez said he and PAOCC chief Gilbert Cruz agreed to offer the reward because the case over Ortega’s killing has dragged on for quite some time.
“Justice has been denied to him and his family far too long,” Gutierrez said in a statement.
‘We doubt if Reyes, Teves and Quiboloy — with their connections and their money — would heed the request of Usec Gutierrez to surrender.’
He said he is confident that the reward offer would help in the manhunt for Reyes who the Supreme Court ordered re-arrested last year to face trial for Ortega’s killing.
Gutierrez encouraged civic-minded citizens and those advocating for justice to contribute to the reward.
“While any act of violence, especially murder, deserves condemnation, it is not enough. Let us all work together in proving that no one is above the law by raising the reward for the arrest of Reyes,” he said.
According to Gutierrez, previous experience has shown that reward money has incentivized people to step forward and give information about the suspects.
To prove his point that offering reward money in exchange for information that would lead to the arrest of criminals is an effective tact, Gutierrez cited the cases of suspects in the killings of Misamis Occidental radioman Juan “DJ Johnny Walker” Jumalon and Kidapawan broadcaster Eduardo “Ed” Dizon.
While announcing bounties might help, and probably will even be a reason for some people to jump into action toward the achievement of an objective, it would help if the reward offered is considerably high. The sum of P100,000 these days laughable if announced in the context of a reward aimed at solving a murder case that has been given a celebrity status by the media.
The contemptibly small reward is even more prone to evoke guffaws because it was offered by two agencies under the Office of the President of the Philippines which has hundreds of millions of pesos in intelligence funds. The move by Cruz and Gutierrez is laudable for their concern in solving a crime that has gone unsolved and unnoticed for several years under a couple of administrations. But they could have asked a bigger amount from President Bongbong Marcos, whose office is perceived to be — and actually is — awash with cash as evidenced by provisions in the General Appropriations Act.
While we are at it, it should be pointed out that all our biggest fugitives and criminal suspects then and now are politicians or politically connected. The list is long and becoming longer still, including Arnolfo Teves and Apollo Quiboloy.
Gutierrez appealed to the former Palawan governor. “As a former high official of the government, it is incumbent on Reyes to demonstrate his respect for the rule of law and our country’s judicial system. His continued hiding only strengthens the impression that he is guilty of the crime imputed on him.”
We doubt if Reyes, Teves and Quiboloy — with their connections and their money — would heed the request of Usec Gutierrez to surrender.
