By ALYSSA MAE CLARIN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – On the 13th year since the murder of environmental journalists Dr. Gerry Ortega, environmental defenders and journalists band together to honor his memory and demand justice from the Supreme Court.
Thirteen years of injustice
Today, January 24, marks the thirteenth year since environmental defender and Palawan radio broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega was killed by an unknown gunman in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The following month, February 2011, Ortega’s widow filed charges against then Palawan Gov. Mario Joel T. Reyes, his brother, Mario T. Reyes, and several others in connection to the murder.
Ortega was known to courageously oppose influential mining aimed at exploiting the natural resources of Palawan. His colleagues firmly believe that the broadcaster was killed for reporting on the misuse of the Malampaya fund by the local government at that time.
Read: Killed for Anti-Mining Stand? Palawan’s ‘Doc Gerry’ Was Friend of Environment and the Poor
According to a statement by the Environmental Defenders Congress, the case of Ortega became a long-drawn-out legal saga involving various complexities.
One such complexity is the recent development in the case.
The Supreme Court granted the motion of Reyes, filed in October 2023, requesting a transfer of venue from a Puerto Princesa, Palawan court to a Quezon City court based on dubious grounds.
A Safer World for the Truth, an initiative of the Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) which revisited the more than a decade-old case of Ortega through a research project, also noted how witnesses of the case admitted to experiencing attacks.
Dennis Aranas who served as lookout and later on witnessed against Reyes, died suspiciously in 2013.
Additionally, Reyes managed to file his certificate of candidacy as governor of Palawan in the 2022 elections despite being on the run.
“The fact that the Supreme Court approved (the motion) in December 2023, nearly a decade after Joel Reyes’ arraignment, brings into question the (SC’s) genuine commitment to pursuing justice,” said the group.
“It also underscores the dismal condition of the Philippine justice system,” they added.
An attack on free press and free expression
The groups also hope that Ortega’s case, which greatly highlights the challenges faced by both journalists and environmental defenders in the Philippines, also catches the attention of UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan whose official visit coincided with the 13th anniversary of Ortega’s death.
“The case highlights the dangers both journalists and environmental activists confront and the persistent threats to freedom of expression in the country,” the groups said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) lamented the decision of the Supreme Court, saying that there is no justifiable reason to transfer the case, and doing so will only prolong the trial that is already proceeding in earnest at the Palawan Regional Trial Court.
“Each year that passes that the victim’s family is denied justice pushes the brazen killing further from memory and makes closure to the case seem even more distant,” said the organization.
The group also calls on SR Khan to acknowledge impunity regarding the killing of journalists and hopes that she will come up with recommendations that would exact accountability.
“As we join Doc Gerry’s family, friends and the press community of Palawan in reiterating the call for justice, we urge the public to help demand an end to the culture of impunity on attacks against media workers,” NUJP said. (RTS) 
