MANILA, Philippines - The court handling the murder case against former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and former Coron town mayor Mario Reyes yesterday entered a not guilty plea for the brothers.
Judge Angelo Arizala of the Puerto Princesa Regional Trial Court Branch 52 made the move after lawyers of the accused advised them not to enter pleas.
They gave their clients that advice because they are still questioning before the Supreme Court (SC) the jurisdiction of the Palawan court, Ferdinand Topacio, one of the lawyers, told The STAR.
“If we have entered a plea, we have surrendered ourselves to the jurisdiction of the court,”he said.
Last April, they asked the SC to resolve the question of jurisdiction, Topacio said.
They will file a second motion to resolve the first motion, considering the latest developments in the case, he added.
Contrary to reports, the Reyeses are not enjoying special treatment at the Puerto Princesa City Jail, Topacio said.
“They wear the same uniform as the other inmates,” he said. “They are not getting special treatment.”
Judge Arizala has set the pre-trial conference on Dec. 3.
Prosecution witness Rodolfo Edrad is expected to appear at the pre-trial conference.
Edrad, a former bodyguard of former Marinduque governor Jose Antonio Carreon, has confessed to putting together the hit team to kill Gerardo Ortega, allegedly on orders of Joel Reyes.
Ortega was gunned down in Palawan in January 2011 and police caught the hired gun fleeing the scene of the crime. The murder weapon was traced to a lawyer of Joel Reyes.
Members of the Ortega family attended yesterday’s arraignment.
Supporters of the accused picketed outside the courtroom to demand justice.
Task force dissolved
The 83-man police squad tasked to hunt down the Reyeses and three other high-profile fugitives has been dissolved.
Although Philippine National Police chief Director General Ricardo Marquez has yet to formally order the deactivation of Task Force Tugis, its 13 officers and 68 enlisted personnel have started reporting back to their mother units or their preferred assignments.
Task Force Tugis chief Sr. Supt. Ronaldo Lee recommended the dissolution of the unit following the arrest of the Reyes brothers in Phuket, Thailand two weeks ago.
Former Dinagat Island Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr., is the last remaining target of the task force.
Other police units can undertake the manhunt for Ecleo, Lee told The STAR.
“The Task Force Tugis’ continued existence would only duplicate the functions of the CIDG and other support units of the PNP who are very capable of hunting down Ecleo,” he said.
“So I recommended that the task force be dissolved and General Marquez verbally gave his go signal to my recommendation.”
Task Force Tugis headquarters at the an old building near the PNP General Hospital is now deserted, except for a lone duty officer guarding their files and equipment, Lee said.
Lee himself has returned to his mother unit the Intelligence Group, while the rest of the officers and men of the task force have either transferred or been reassigned to various PNP units.
Two other fugitives that the task force had been hunting have already been captured. They are Globe Asiatique developer Delfin Lee and retired Army general Jovito Palparan, who have been arrested in separate operations in 2014. – With Non Alquitran