Joel Reyes, the former governor of Palawan Island, and his brother Mario, a former town mayor, were arrested on Sunday and are now detained by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD).
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Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Monday that the arrest provided “an opportunity for pursuing the ends of justice”. “We acknowledge the efforts of Interpol and Thai authorities in making this possible”.
An early Philippines director with the exceptional brother have also been arrested in Thailand regarding the longstanding assassination of causing significant Filipino reporter and communal lobbyist, Justice Secretary Leila onze Lima declared Monday.
His widow, Patty Ortega, expressed relief at the arrests but also said she was anxious about whether the Reyes brothers could still evade justice.
Records show that Joel Reyes left the country for Vietnam on March 18, 2012, aboard Cebu Pacific using the name Joseph Lim Pe shortly before the Regional Trial Court in Puerto Princesa issued a warrant for his arrest.
“We thank the cooperation and assistance of the Thailand government in the arrest of the Reyes brothers”, he added.
The Reyes brothers are facing murder charges for the death of environmentalist and radio broadcaster Gerry Ortega in 2011.
Ortega, an environment and anticorruption crusader, was a vocal critic of local officials for their alleged misuse of funds derived from the operation of the Malampaya gas field in Palawan.
Malacañang commended yesterday Thai authorities for arresting the Reyes brothers, who each have a P2-million bounty for their capture.
“We have to stress that they get treated like the fugitives that they are”.
Immigration officials on Phuket have yet to confirm reports from the Philippines that two brothers, wanted over the killing of a journalist, had been arrested on Phuket and will be extradited over the high-profile murder. “We want to see them in handcuffs”, she said.
Michaella said, “It’s going to be a long fight”.
Still, her family keeps “a guarded sense of hope”.
In a phone interview, Ortega’s daughter, Michaella, told Rappler her family “did not expect this to happen” this week.
De Lima sacked two BI personnel – Administrative aide Rogelo Udarbe Jr. and immigration officer Wesley Gutierrez – for allegedly aiding the Reyes brothers in their escape.
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On Friday, members of Ortega’s family and several supporters presented a petition paper signed by 30,000 people calling on De Lima to clear the way for the brothers’ trial by resolving a petition for review seeking to reverse the finding of the first panel of prosecutors in 2011 that junked the murder charges against the Reyeses.
