Ex-Palawan gov Reyes: I’m not going anywhere

To underscore that he has no plans of going into hiding again, former Palawan Governor Joel T. Reyes appeared before the Sandiganbayan Third Division yesterday and said that he will face his graft conviction.

"Hindi naman po ako aalis. Nandito po ako, (I am not going anywhere. I am just here)," he said. "Naniniwala po ako sa rule of law (I believe in the rule of law)," Reyes said when pressed fopr comment after the court proceeding.

Reyes added that the only reason he went into hiding before was because he received several threats to his life.

"Baka ho, kung nandito pa ako nung pagkakataon na yun, baka hindi niyo na ako kausap ngayon, (Maybe if I was here during that time, I would not be talking to you today)," he said.

Reyes' graft charge involves the issuance of the Small Scale Mining Permit to Olympic Mines and Development Corporation (OMDC) from April 6, 2006 to April 5, 2008, even though OMDC already mined and extracted the annual maximum of 50,000 dry metric tons of ore set forth by its previous permit.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor filed a motion to cancel bail after Reyes was released from the Puerto Princesa City Jail last Friday.

This was after the Court of Appeals (CA) granted his petition, which questioned the merit of his trial as a suspect in the 2011 murder of environmentalist and journalist Dr. Gerry Ortega.

The prosecution stressed that Reyes is a flight risk, and the court earlier allowed him to post P60,000 bail with the knowledge that he is still locked up in jail.

"It will be recalled that accused Reyes was a fugitive. He, together with his brother, were arrested in Thailand. Had it not been for the intervention of Thai authorities, accused Reyes would not have been deported to face the criminal charges against him," the motion read.

Reyes' lawyer, Demetrio Custodio, assured the court that Reyes will faithfully comply with the court's rules.

The defense has been given until Monday to comment on the prosecution's motion to cancel bail, and the prosecution is given another two days to reply.

After that, the motion will be submitted for resolution.