Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday ordered the reinvestigation of the murder of Palawan broadcaster Gerry Ortega after an earlier panel denied the motion filed by his widow to reopen the preliminary investigation and admit new evidence in the case. Through Department Order No. 710, De Lima created a new prosecution team composed of the following:
- Asst. State Prosecutor Stewart Allan Mariano
- Asst. State Prosecutor Vimar Barcellano
- Asst. State Prosecutor Gerard Gaerlan
The move came five days after the former prosecution panel junked the request from complainant Patria Ortega, the slain journalist’s widow, to allow new evidence regarding a supposed cellphone conversation between former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, whom she had tagged as the mastermind, and his accuser Rodolfo Edrad Jr. (Read the entire order in the PDF below)
In an interview with reporters, De Lima said she exercised her plenary powers “in the interest of justice" as the old panel denied the motion to reopen the case based on a technicality. “Ang sabi is, because a motion to reopen is only possible kung wala pang decision o wala pang resol… eh, ito… this was filed after the resolution along with the motion for partial reconsideration. Sa akin naman masyadong naging technical doon," she said.
Junking of charges upheld In a September 2 resolution, also released to the media on Wednesday, the previous panel upheld its decision to junk the charges against Reyes, Jose Antonio Carreon, Coron Mayor Mario Reyes Jr., Romeo Serratubias, Arturo Regalado, and Percival Lecias. The panel also stood by its earlier decision finding probable cause to file murder charges against Edrad, Armando Noel Jr., Dennis Aranas, and Arwin Arandia in connection with the killing of Ortega. The earlier panel included Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Edwin Dayog and Bryan Jacinto Cacha, and Prosecution Attorney John Benedict Medina. Reyes welcomed the September 2 resolution, saying that “justice has triumphed" once again. “With this resolution of the Justice Department, I hope that the people of Palawan can move on, and that we can embark on an honest-to-goodness search for the real mastermind in this case, so that true justice can be done," he said.
‘Unconstitutional evidence’ The camp of Reyes, through his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, told GMA News Online it will contest the new pieces of evidence “for being unconstitutional." Topacio explained that the cellphone recordings violate the Constitution’s provision on private conversations. “The reinvestigation of the case in order to examine additional evidence, my lawyers believe, will not change the outcome of the case. The evidence being presented is clearly unconstitutional and violative of my civil rights," said the former governor in a statement issued by Topacio. “To this end, we shall file disbarment proceedings against the lawyers responsible for the unethical conduct of foisting upon the Department of Justice evidence which are clearly at war with the Bill of Rights," Reyes said.
Renewed hope In a statement, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) welcomed the reinvestigation and the appointment of a new prosecution panel that will look into the case. “This move renews our hope that justice may yet be found for the death of Doc Gerry, as it has remained painfully elusive in the deaths of so many more of our colleagues," the NUJP said. "We trust that the reinvestigation will be conducted with more diligence than the original proceedings," the group added. Ortega’s camp has declined to issue a statement on the matter.
— VS/YA, GMA News 
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