Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 20) — The apellate court has revived the murder case of broadcast journalist and environmentalist Gerry Ortega.
In a decision promulgated on November 28, the court ordered the issuance of a warrant of arrest against former Coron, Palawan mayor Mario Reyes and the revival of court proceedings on the 2011 slay of the broadcaster who reported alleged widespread corruption by the Palawan provincial government in relation to the Malampaya funds.
Mario Reyes and his brother, former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, were among the primary accused in the alleged assassination plot against Ortega, who was shot in broad daylight in 2011.
Joel Reyes was released from jail in January 2018, based on an earlier Court of Appeals ruling that ordered a stop of the trial due to lack of evidence. Mario Reyes posted bail in 2016, when he ran in local elections.
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The new decision penned by Associate Justice Marie Christine Azcarraga-Jacob however, said that it was too early for the Court at that state of the proceedings to decide whether or not there was enough evidence to pursue the trial.
“Thus, the proper course of action is not to dismiss the case but to proceed to trial. The Court, at this particular stage of the proceedings, cannot arrogate upon itself the task of dwelling on factual and evidentiary matters,” the decision read.
Normandie Pizzaro, the justice that penned the now-reversed decision, retired last year.
READ: Solicitor General raises suspicion vs. judge in Gerry Ortega slay
