Ex-Palawan gov’s early prison release plea junked
The Sandiganbayan has affirmed its ruling denying the appeal of convicted former Palawan governor Joel Reyes for his early release from prison.
In a resolution promulgated on Oct. 24, the anti-graft court’s third division said Reyes failed to raise any new valid argument in his motion to reverse its Aug. 22 ruling, which denied his appeal.
Reyes is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.
He was convicted of graft in August 2017 over the illegal renewal of a mining permit and sentenced to up to eight years in prison.
The court upheld the conviction in January 2018, prompting Reyes to file a petition before the Supreme
Court (SC).
In a motion filed on July 22, Reyes said he should be released after serving the minimum prison term in accordance with Section 5 of SC Administrative Memorandum 12-11-2.
However, the Sandiganbayan said the SC memo is applicable only to prisoners applying for bail and not for those who had been convicted.
The court said Reyes’ insistence for early release based on the SC memo is “utterly misplaced.”
“It bears reiterating that any issue bearing thereon must be lodged with the high court for its appropriate resolution,” the court ruling read.
The court said Reyes gave unwarranted benefit to Olympic Mines and Development Corp. when he renewed its permit on April 6, 2006 even though it had an existing valid permit at the time.
The court said Reyes’ decision enabled the company to extract additional ore even though it had exceeded the allowable limit under its existing permit.
The third division allowed Reyes to post additional bail while his conviction is on appeal. It revoked the bail on Jan. 17, 2018 and ordered the former governor’s arrest after the Court of Appeals dismissed the murder charges filed against him in connection with the killing of broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega in 2011.
The Sandiganbayan sided with the prosecution that Reyes must remain in prison because he is a “flight risk.” It cited his record of leaving the country to evade prosecution.
Reyes and his brother Mario, a former mayor of Coron town, fled the country 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 at a resort in Phuket, Thailand in September 2015.