MANILA: A former Philippine provincial governor accused of masterminding the 2011 murder of an environmental activist and radio show host has surrendered after more than a year in hiding, a government official said on Thursday (Sep 12).
In the 13 years since Gerry Ortega was shot dead on the tropical island of Palawan, the region’s former governor Joel Reyes, accused of ordering the hit, has remained mostly free due to legal twists and a three-year escape to Thailand.
State prosecutors allege 72-year-old Reyes ordered Ortega’s shooting, which stands out for its brazenness in a country where hundreds of Filipino journalists and environmental defenders have been murdered.
After a court ordered his arrest last year, Reyes again went into hiding but resurfaced, unknown to authorities, after checking into a Manila hospital, the head of the president’s media security task force told AFP.
Reyes later had his lawyers write to the National Bureau of Investigation “that he really wants to surrender”, task force chief Paul Gutierrez said.
“Based on his medical certificate, it appears that he is suffering from many … health complications,” he said without giving details.
Ortega had just finished his morning radio show where he frequently criticised politicians, including Reyes, when he was shot in the back of the head at a second-hand clothes shop in the provincial capital Puerto Princesa.
Police arrested Ortega’s killer and the gun used was traced to a close aide of Reyes, while a bodyguard who hired the assassin later implicated his boss.
