(Eagle News)– The Palace will seek for a reversal of a Court of Appeals decision that saw former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes cleared of charges in connection with the killing of environmentalist Gerry Ortega in 2011.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the executive branch would file a motion for reconsideration in particular.
“We will exercise all legal options to reverse this decision of the Court of Appeals,” Roque, who was a lawyer for the Ortegas, said.
He said they have a copy of the decision from “the Regional Trial Court that the evidence against former Governor Joel Reyes is strong.”
He said this “prompted the Court to dismiss the petition of bail.”
Apart from this, Roque said there “was already a prior Supreme Court decision.”
In that decision, he said Justice Marvic Leonen ruled on the “validity of the second panel created to investigate and determine probable cause against Joel Reyes, and which panel concluded probable cause.”
He said that according to the High Court, it was “now up to the lower court, the Regional Trial Court, to determine the existence of probable cause.”
“At that time, we have concluded presentation of all evidence for the prosecution and the defense have already concluded its presentation of evidence, and there was already a decision of the lower court that evidence of guilt was strong against former Governor Joel Reyes…So I find it alarming that this CA decision, number one, overruled an earlier Supreme Court decision,” he said.
On January 5, the CA ruled that the Puerto Princesa Regional Trial Court Branch 52 had no basis to find probable cause against Reyes and issue a warrant of arrest against him.
The appellate court had argued, among others, that the statement of witness Rodolfo Edrad was “insufficient” and “uncorroborated.”