14-5-2024 (MANILA) In the tropical paradise of Palawan, a verdant island cradled by the Philippines’ azure waters, a dark cloud of impunity lingers. It has been more than a decade since environmental activist and radio host Gerry Ortega was gunned down in broad daylight, his voice silenced for daring to expose the plundering of the island’s natural resources. Yet, the alleged mastermind behind his brazen murder remains at large, a grim reminder of the prevailing culture of impunity that shrouds the nation.
On that fateful day of January 24, 2011, Ortega, a father of five, was shot in the back of the head at a second-hand clothes shop along a bustling road in Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan. His crime? Fearlessly using his radio platform to denounce corruption and environmental exploitation, often directing his criticism at former provincial governor Joel Reyes, whom he accused of enabling the pillaging of Palawan’s forests and minerals.
“He made a lot of enemies, but he made the biggest enemy in Joel Reyes, and that’s why he was killed,” laments Redempto Anda, a journalist and friend of Ortega’s, in an interview with AFP.
While Ortega’s killer was apprehended and the gun traced back to a close aide of the former governor, the road to justice has been an arduous one. A bodyguard who hired the hit squad turned state witness, implicating Reyes in the crime. Yet, despite the damning evidence, Reyes remains a fugitive, evading the long arm of the law through a series of legal manoeuvres.
For Ortega’s daughter, Michaella, now 35, the anguish is palpable. “We just really want to have a fair and honest trial,” she told AFP, her voice tinged with frustration. “It’s been 13 years. Evidence is there.”
The case has been mired in a labyrinth of legal twists and turns. Initially, prosecutors cleared the Reyes brothers of involvement, only to reverse their decision in March 2012 and charge them. The brothers fled to Thailand, where they were apprehended three years later and deported back to the Philippines. While Reyes was briefly freed in 2018 after a court voided the case against him, the charges were reinstated nearly two years later.
In a move that has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups, the Supreme Court issued a stay on the order for Reyes’ re-arrest while it heard his plea for reconsideration. Last year, the court rejected his appeal, ordering him to be arrested and resume trial. Undeterred, Reyes’ lawyers are now seeking to have the case moved from Palawan to Manila, a tactic that the Ortega family insists is another delaying ploy.
Rolando Bonoan, a friend of Reyes, maintains the former governor’s innocence, claiming he was framed and could not receive a “fair trial” in Palawan. Remarkably, despite the murder charge looming over him, Reyes ran for Palawan governor in the 2022 elections, though he ultimately lost. His brother, Mario, succeeded in his re-election bid as mayor of Coron municipality.
Press advocacy groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have taken the extraordinary step of meeting with Philippine authorities to provide information about Reyes’ alleged location. “The information we have provided to the Department of Justice and the National Police provides all the keys to finding and arresting Joel T. Reyes,” said Cedric Alviani of RSF.
At the Ortega family home in Puerto Princesa, the pain of loss is etched on the faces of his widow, Patty, and their children as they flip through photo albums filled with cherished memories. Michaella confides that the family still grapples with the void left by her father’s untimely demise. “Death in the family is already really, really tragic, but murder means someone chose for him to die,” she laments. “Someone planned it, someone paid someone to make that happen.”
Ortega’s unwavering commitment to protecting Palawan’s environment, home to breathtaking beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and biodiverse forests, was the driving force behind his activism. Patty, his widow, expresses a mix of anger and determination, refusing to be consumed by bitterness. “As much as possible, we keep our focus on what he was fighting for because I also believe in what he was fighting for,” she says resolutely.
In the wake of another radio broadcaster’s killing in November, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos pledged that attacks on journalists would not be tolerated. Last month, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security announced the arrest of the suspected gunman, signaling the Marcos administration’s commitment to “ensuring that perpetrators of violence are arrested and made to pay for their crimes.”
However, the Ortega family and rights activists point to the staggering list of journalists and environmentalists killed in recent years, with a disturbing lack of justice for the victims. In Palawan, the murder of a high-profile figure like Ortega has cast a chilling effect on journalists and activists alike.
“Why did it happen? So it can happen to anyone?” questions Grizelda Mayo-Anda, head of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center, which worked closely with Ortega.
Redempto Anda, who often collaborated with Ortega on stories, recalls their most sensitive exposé – the alleged misuse of millions of dollars from the Malampaya gas field off Palawan – as the likely catalyst for Ortega’s assassination. “He was very, very critical, very vocal and unafraid,” he says, his voice tinged with admiration and regret.
In the aftermath of Ortega’s death, Anda admits to being more cautious in his reporting, a self-imposed censorship born out of fear. “It’s not like surrendering our independence in terms of being able to cover a story, but being more circumspect,” he explains, the weight of the words hanging heavy in the air.
For Michaella, the fight for justice extends beyond her father’s case; it is a battle for the preservation of free speech and the protection of those who dare to speak truth to power. “Maybe it would send a message that you can’t just kill people for speaking out… that just because you’re powerful, you’re not going to get away with it,” she says, her voice laced with determination.
Yet, as the years drag on, the elusive nature of justice casts a pall over Palawan’s beauty. “Maybe, because we’re not there yet,” Michaella concludes, her words a haunting reminder of the long road ahead in the pursuit of accountability and the preservation of the fundamental right to dissent.
