Sandiganbayan orders arrest of ex-Palawan gov Joel Reyes

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of former Palawan governor Joel Reyes in connection with his conviction for the anomalous renewal of small-scale mining permits.

A Super Radyo dzBB report said the anti-graft court's Third Division ordered Reyes' arrest in approving the prosecution's urgent motion to cancel bail and for the immediate commitment of the governor to prison filed last January 8.

"Let a warrant of arrest be issued against accused Joel T. Reyes," the Sandiganbayan division said in a 18-page resolution.

Reyes was released from detention earlier this month after the Court of Appeals cleared him from murder charges in connection with the killing of environmentalist and broadcaster Gerry Ortega in 2011.

In its appeal, the prosecution said the Court of Appeals' decision "deems it necessary" for the Sandiganbayan to order the detention of the former governor saying he is a flight risk.

The prosecution cited the arrest of Reyes and his brother, former Coron mayor Mario Reyes, in Thailand in 2015 in connection with the Ortega murder case.

The Third Division in August last year convicted Reyes of graft and sentenced him to a maximum of eight years of imprisonment for the anomalous renewal of small-scall mining permits.

The court also perpetually barred Reyes from holding public office.

Reyes and co-accused Adronico Baguyo, former mining operations officer, was charged for granting the mining permit for the Olympic Mines and Development Corporation (OMDC) in April 2006 despite the fact that the company already reached the annual maximum extraction limit of 50,000 dry metric tons of ore from a previous SSMP.

Reyes and Baguyo also issued a permit in favor of OMDC despite the company's over-extraction of ore and the use of heavy equipment in its mining operations, which is prohibited under Republic Act No. 7076, or the Small-scale Mining Act of 1991, and Presidential Decree No. 1899.

Baguyo was acquitted by the anti-graft court.

Reyes' lawyer, Demetrio Custodio, said they will file an appeal to the Sandiganbayan's resolution.

Custodio also said they will ask the Supreme Court to reverse the governor's conviction on the graft case.

Reyes is also facing separate charges at the Sandiganbayan over the Malampaya and fertilizer fund scams. —ALG, GMA News