Joel Reyes surrenders; detained at Camp Bagong Diwa

MANILA, Philippines — Former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes Monday surrendered before the Sandiganbayan a few hours after the anti-graft court released a ruling ordering his arrest and the revocation of the bail bond he earlier posted.

 

Reyes was accompanied by his two children and his lawyer Demetrio Custodio when he surrendered before the court's Sheriff's Office. Reyes was then escorted to the court's Third Division which is handling his graft case.

 

“We respect the decision of the court, kaya nga po ako nandito (that's why I am here),” Reyes said.

 

Following his surrender, Reyes was brought by the personnel of the Sheriff's Office to the Quezon City Jail Annex at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, where the court committed him for detainment.

 

READ: Ex-Palawan governor Reyes ordered arrested for graft case

 

In a chance interview with reporters before he was escorted out of the Sandiganbayan building, Reyes maintained that he is not a flight risk and is ready to face a tougher legal battle ahead.

 

“My surrender shows that I am not a flight risk and I am here to face this case together with my lawyer and my family,” Reyes said in Filipino.

 

He admitted that he was saddened by the court's decision but he respects it nonetheless.

 

“It has only been three weeks since I was reunited with my family after I released from detention. Now we are going to part ways again. But I will face the case,” Reyes said.

 

On Monday morning, the Third Division released to the media a resolution dated January 17 ordering the revocation of the bail bond that Reyes earlier posted for his graft case in connection with the alleged anomalous renewal of the permit of a small-scale mining company in 2006 found to have been over extracting mineral ore in Palawan.

 

The court sided with the prosecution that the former governor must remain in detention as he is a “flight risk” given his previous record of fleeing the country to evade his murder case in connection with the killing of broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega in 2011.

 

“Indeed, accused Reyes managed to go to Thailand despite the existence of a Hold Departure Order against him...His return to the Philippines was not voluntary but was effected through a compulsory process resulting from his arrest by the authorities in Thailand,” the Third Division's ruling read.

 

“These circumstances are most telling. They unquestionably evince the strong probability that accused Reyes might to go into hiding again while his case is on appeal and thereby frustrate the ends of justice,” it added.

 

It can be remembered that Reyes was released from the Puerto Princesa City Jail on Jan. 5, 2018 after the Court of Appeals, in a controversial decision, dismissed his murder case.

 

This prompted the Office of the Ombudsman's prosecution team to file an urgent motion before the Sandiganbayan Third Division praying to the court to cancel Reyes' bail and to order his commitment to prison.

 

Reyes, together with his younger brother, former Coron, Palawan Mayor Mario Reyes, fled the county in 2012 after the Puerto Princesa Regional Trial Court found probable cause to put them on trial for murder over Ortega's death.

 

The Reyes brothers were arrested in a lavish resort in Phuket, Thailand in September 2015.

 

In its resolution, the Third Division said when an accused is already convicted of a bailable offense, the granting of bail is no longer a matter of right but now rests upon the sole discretion of the court.

 

The Third Division cited Section 5, Rule 114 of the Revised Rules of Court which states that the cancellation of bail is warranted if the accused has a previous record of evading a case.

 

In its Aug. 29, 2017 decision, the Third Division found Reyes guilty of graft and sentenced him with six to eight years of imprisonment.

 

The court, however, granted him provisional liberty after he filed a motion for reconsideration.

 

The case stemmed from Reyes' alleged renewal of the small-scale mining permit of the company Olympic Mines and Development Corporation on April 6, 2006, despite a previous permit which was still valid and subsisting at that time.

 

The court said that with the unlawful renewal of OMDC's permit, the company was able to extract additional ore, even after it had already exhausted and even exceeded the allowable limit under its existing permit.

 

In a separate resolution also released Monday, the Third Division affirmed Reyes' conviction, maintaining that his renewal of OMDC's permit had caused “undue injury to the government of Palawan”.

 

“In other words, the excess nickel would not have been extracted by OMDC had the permit not been illegally granted... In fine, accused Reyes failed to show any cogent reason to reverse or modify the Decision dated August 29, 2017, finding him guilty of violation of Section 3 (e) of RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” the Third Division's ruling, dated Jan. 25, 2018, read.

 

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez with the concurrence of Division Chairman Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito Fernandez.

 

Reyes' lawyer said their camp would file a motion for reconsideration of the Third Division's revocation of the former governor's bail.

 

“That's not yet final, we can still file an MR (motion for reconsideration),” Custodio told reporters.

 

Custodio said they will also file a petition for review before the Supreme Court to challenge the Third Division's ruling affirming Reyes' graft conviction.