A macabre political thriller recently unfolded in the Philippine province of Palawan, an island known mostly for its rich biodiversity and pristine beaches. On May 9, Joel T Reyes, a suspect in the 2011 murder of well-known radio broadcaster Gerry Ortega, ran again for governor. Had Mr Reyes won, the possibilities for Ortega's family to obtain justice for the killing would have dwindled. Fortunately for them, he lost.
Although episodes like the Ortega murder might seem extreme, they are more common than many realise. Powerful authoritarian elites such as Mr Reyes, supported by a political milieu that often guarantees them impunity, pose the deadliest threat to journalists.
Ortega was fatally shot after he publicly accused Mr Reyes, Palawan's governor from 2002 to 2011, of embezzlement. All members of the hit squad were soon arrested and subsequently confessed to the killing. But, despite evidence that Mr Reyes ordered the murder, prosecutors refrained from indicting him. The middleman in the scheme, Rodolfo Edrad, implicated Mr Reyes as the mastermind and was placed under witness protection. However, prosecutors found Mr Edrad's testimony to be uncorroborated. Prosecutors decided that text messages sent by Mr Reyes to Mr Edrad shortly before and after the murder -- including one that read, "Hopefully, upon my return, the problem is over" -- could not be used as evidence.
