MALAYA
‘Our justice system grinds so exceedingly slow – both for the falsely accused and for the true victims of cases such as the Ampatuan’s massacre of innocents.’
LAST week, I watched slain Palawan newsman Gerry Ortega’s wife Patty and daughter Mika on the morning radio show (on TV) of Ted Failon and Pinky Webb over DZMM.
Ted was doing all the interviewing and all of the talking, seeming like a lawyer for the Ortegas. Pinky seemed engrossed in texting until, at some point, she demurely asked: Wasn’t Erdad, Patty’s star witness, facing an earlier murder case?
I thought to myself (without knowing Pinky at all) that perhaps she had learned something important about unproven accusations from the nightmare of her brother Hubert’s 15 years in prison for a crime that, eventually, the Supreme Court ruled he did not commit.
The Philippine justice system is so cavalier about accusations. Our justice system grinds so exceedingly slow – both for the falsely accused and for the true victims of cases such as the Ampatuan’s massacre of innocents.
Why do we need 15 years to be told that Hubert killed no one? Why does the Ampatuan trial also seem headed for 15 years or even longer?
Why can’t everyone – lawyers and witnesses and victims — take the time to prepare thoroughly for the hearings, which can then be held daily until the final decision? That would be better than interminable court hearings that probably only helps lawyers who would rather fix than argue such cases.
Even when prosecutors have decided that there is not enough evidence to prosecute, the “victims” (who often achieve their ’15 minutes of fame’ by being such) will insist on the guilt of their chosen accused.
In the murder of Palawan broadcaster Gerardo “Doc Gerry” Ortega, the alleged involvement of former Marinduque Governor Jose Antonio Carrion as one of the masterminds invites curiosity and disbelief.
Rodolfo Edrad Jr., the perjury-prone witness in the murder complaint filed by Mrs. Patty Ortega, says Carrion initially briefed him on the plot to kill Doc Gerry and another Palawan media man in exchange for a P600,000 contract.
Carrion denies the accusation but admits that Edrad worked for him as a close-in security.
The former governor denies Edrad’s tale that they discussed the murder plot in the governor’s Merville residence in Parañaque, right after they arrived from Marinduque one early morning in the last week of June 2010.
Carrion says that on that particular week, he was still in Marinduque preparing to turn over the Office of the Governor to the man who defeated him in the elections.
Carrion presented documents, photos and affidavits of witnesses concerning his activities in Marinduque from June 23 until he left for Manila on the evening of June 29 on board a Ro-Ro ferry, arriving in Lucena City at 11 o’clock that same evening.
While Carrion admitted that Edrad was with him on the ferry, Edrad went directly to his hometown in Quezon province. This was already in the early morning hours of June 30, a holiday, which was also Edrad’s last day of employment with Carrion.
The former governor presented affidavits of another companion in the ferry and a driver who backed up his statements.
Carrion believes that Edrad implicated him out of malice, resentful that, out of three security aides, only Edrad was terminated. The reason for this, Carrion said, was that he did not really trust Edrad. Carrion explained that his own wife wanted Edrad out because Edrad seduced two of the Carrion household help, one of whom was a minor.
The former governor asks: “Why would I ask somebody whom I have already terminated to perform so heinous a criminal act?”
Besides, there really is no believable and credible motive for Carrion to conspire with Joel Reyes to murder two media men in Palawan when he has absolutely no political or commercial stake in Joel’s province.
Edrad, the purloined witness, predicates his tale against Reyes on the presumption that the Palawan ex-governor deeply resented the criticisms made by Doc Gerry on the issue of mining and Joel’s alleged corruption attendant to the disposition of the Malampaya funds. But, did Gerry’s daily diatribes on radio actually affect Reyes’ political fortunes?
Ortega started lambasting Joel in 2001 when he first became governor. In spite of these criticisms, Joel was twice reelected as governor — in 2004 and in 2007. Ortega even ran as governor against Reyes in 2004 but was soundly beaten.
In the 2010 elections, Reyes supported Baham Mitra for governor, who was running in tandem with Joel’s wife, Mrs. Fems Reyes as vice governor. Ortega campaigned for the opponent of Governor Mitra.
Baham Mitra handily won together with his vice governor, Mrs. Fems Reyes.
Could it be that Joel lost the campaign for a congressional seat because of Gerry? Baham and Joel exchanged seats. Congressman Baham ran for governor and Governor Joel for Congress.
But, according to incumbent provincial board member Rolando Bonoan Jr. and Governor Mitra himself, the reason behind Joel’s loss was that he paid little attention to his own candidacy. In affidavits submitted to the DOJ panel of prosecutors, the two asserted that Reyes actually spent more time campaigning for Mitra as governor and for his wife as vice governor. Most of the time, he was crisscrossing the entire province and going on sorties outside the second district where he was running for Congress.
Mitra testified that for the 20 minutes allocated for a candidate, Reyes spent 15 minutes plugging the candidates of his party and only five minutes for himself.
In spite of these, Reyes won in all but two municipalities in the second district, losing by only 2,811 votes to his opponent. He lost heavily in Puerto Princesa City, the bailiwick of Mayor Edward Hagedorn, whom Joel had previously defeated in the 2004 gubernatorial election.
As with many media persons (present company included) while Doc Gerry was an immensely popular broadcaster, the late Doc Gerry actually had very little influence in Palawan politics. In fact, board member Bonoan says that there is actually another radio commentator in Puerto Princesa who was even more virulent than Ortega in his diatribes against Reyes.
Was Ortega such a pain in the neck that former Governor Joel must have ordered the killing of the broadcaster?
Says Joel: “In all my 23 years in public service, there was never an instance when I used violence against my detractors, and never was I accused of such an offense. When Doc Gerry was murdered, I was already out of office and was already a private citizen. Hence, there was nothing for me to gain from his death.
“On the other hand, taking part in this alleged conspiracy would mean risking not only my reputation, my future in politics and my liberty should I be convicted of such a dastardly crime.”
The DOJ panel did right in dismissing witness Erdad as a charlatan.
Someone had Doc Gerry killed. This was not the work of two former governors. Insisting on going after Joel and Bong simply on the testimony of a discredited witness is simply not the way to go. Find the mastermind instead of barking up an old tree.
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