Groups seek return of Gerry Ortega case to Palawan

In commemoration of the 13th death anniversary of Gerry Ortega, the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) and environmental groups on Wednesday trooped to the Supreme Court to call for the return of his case to Palawan.

According to the Environmental Defender’s Congress, a coalition of 37 groups, the Supreme Court in December 2023 approved a motion of the respondents to transfer Ortega’s case from a Puerto Princesa court to Quezon City.

“This strategic move — and the fact that the Supreme Court approved it in December 2023, nearly a decade after Joel Reyes’s arraignment — brings into question the genuine commitment to pursuing justice,” it said in a statement.

“It also underscores the dismal condition of the Philippine justice system,” it added.

Ortega, an environmental defender and broadcast journalist, was killed in January 2011 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. 

According to the coalition, Ortega's widow filed charges against then Palawan governor Mario Joel Reyes, Coron mayor Mario Reyes, and former administrator Romeo Serratubias, and seven others in connection with the murder.    

The Reyes brothers left the Philippines in March 2012, a few days before arrest warrants were issued against them.

In 2015, they were deported from Thailand and returned to the country. In July 2023, the SC ordered their immediate re-arrest and detention.

Meanwhile, the NUJP called on the Office of the Solicitor General to appeal the motion of the Supreme Court so that the case may be heard in Palawan.

“We strongly believe that there is no justifiable reason to transfer the case, and doing so will only prolong the trial that is already proceeding in earnest at the Palawan Regional Trial Court,” it said in a separate statement. 

“Each year that passes that the victim’ family is denied justice pushes the brazen killing further from memory and makes closure to the case seem even more distant.”

GMA News Online has sought comment from the OSG but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

The protest of the NUJP and the Environmental Defender’s Congress coincided with the visit of Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, at the Supreme Court. 

“Ang pag bisita ni Special Rapporteur Irene Khan ay oportunidad para ipakita sa buong mundo na ang problema po natin sa impunity ay hindi pa natatapos,” NUJP Secretary General Len Olea said in an interview.

(The visit of Special Rapporteur Irene Khan is an opportunity for the world to see that our problem with impunity is not yet over.)

“At ang kaso ni Doc. Gerry Ortega ay isa lamang sa mahabang listahan ng mga pagpaslang ng mga mamamahayag. Simula 1986 ay 199 journalist na po ang pinatay,” she added.

(And the case of Doc. Gerry Ortega is only one in a long list of journalist killings. Since 1986, 199 journalists have been killed.)

Olea also called on Khan to acknowledge the lack of convictions on the part of perpetrators as well as to push for recommendations that would address impunity

In a statement, the Ortega family said the past 13 years have been difficult and marked by challenges, yet the outpouring of support from the media, environmental defenders, human rights advocates, friends, and our community sustains their determination to see the case through.

"On this solemn day, the 13th death anniversary of our beloved Doc Gerry Ortega, we gather with enduring hope that one day, we will find justice... Today, we express immense gratitude for your unwavering solidarity and support," they said.

They said they are on the brink of renewed grief as recent developments in legal proceedings may risk further delays. They did not elaborate.

Despite this, the family said they remain resolute and continue to hope for a fair, timely, and just resolution to the case.—AOL, GMA Integrated News