Justice elusive for murdered Palawan journo Ortega, laments son
STILL WAITING Joaquin Philippe Ortega, son of slain broadcaster Gerry Ortega, attends a Mass at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Puerto Princesa City with other family members and friends on Friday, to commemorate the 14th anniversary of his father’s assassination. The young Ortega says they are still waiting for justice to be served on those responsible for his father’s death. —Photo by Dietroi Dimanalata/Contributor
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, PALAWAN, Philippines — It has been 14 years but the pain lingered, with justice still not attained for the death of broadcast journalist and environment crusader Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega, his son Joaquin lamented on Friday.
The family and friends of Ortega gathered at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral here for a Mass on Friday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of his assassination.
Joaquin, Ortega’s only son, speaking during the commemoration, said 14 years have passed but they were still fighting to attain justice for his father’s death.
READ: Ortega slay: Ex-gov Reyes yields, guarded in hospital
Long years
“I cannot explain how long the last 14 years have been, not only for our quest for justice but also for the moments that he is no longer with us,” said the 29-year-old Ortega, who was 15 when his father was murdered.
Article continues after this advertisementHis father, he said, “was stolen from us, and he missed so many milestones—my high school graduation when I learned to drive. He also didn’t get to see his grandkids Primo and Tanya, to whom he would have been the loudest and proudest ‘lolo’ (grandfather).”
Article continues after this advertisementJoaquin said his father’s death was also a loss for Palawan, recalling how “Doc Gerry,” as his father was widely known, was “a brave voice against anomalies” and was the lone man who, while a member of the Palawan provincial board, exposed corruption in the use of the billions of pesos in provincial share from the Malampaya natural gas field, located off the shores of Palawan and which generates electricity for about 30 percent of the country, especially the Luzon grid.
Last time
Joaquin recalled that before his father left for his morning radio program “Ramatak” over RMN radio station in Puerto Princesa on Jan. 24, 2011, he reminded his father of his body measurements for his prom attire and asked for an embrace.
“I did not know that it would be the last time that I would see him and embrace him,” Joaquin added.
JUSTICE FOR GERRY Family and friends of slain broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega attend a Mass at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Puerto Princesa City on Friday to commemorate his 14th death anniversary.
Ortega was shot dead while browsing inside a thrift shop near his clinic in the city’s Barangay San Pedro after he finished his program.
Joaquin said his father had always been proud of his radio program and reminded him that “Ramatak” was his “cure” for corrupt politicians.
“Fourteen years ago, one of the strongest cases against a powerful mastermind was born,” Joaquin said.
Former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes was named the mastermind behind Ortega’s murder. He fled the country in 2012 after the Department of Justice indicted him for masterminding the crime. He was arrested in 2015 in Phuket, Thailand, along with his brother and coaccused, Mario Jr., and was extradited to the Philippines. But the former governor was released in 2018 when the Court of Appeals voided the murder charges against him.
Reyes went into hiding anew after Palawan Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 52 Judge Angelo Arizala issued a warrant for his arrest in 2023, following a Supreme Court ruling that ordered his rearrest and the resumption of the murder trial against him.
Reyes surrendered in September 2024 and is now placed under hospital arrest in Metro Manila while he undergoes trial in a Quezon City RTC.
