Reyeses in US? De Lima to check

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER file photo

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Wednesday she was verifying reports that fugitive brothers Joel and Mario Reyes are hiding in the United States.

De Lima said she was not aware that the two former Palawan officials, who are the suspected masterminds in the killing of environmentalist Dr. Gerry Ortega last year, had flown to the US.

Ortega’s daughter Mika had told a television station that she had been getting reports that the Reyes brothers may be in the US because Joel’s wife, Palawan Vice Gov. Clara Reyes, flew to the US on June 29 and stayed there for a month. The Reyes brothers allegedly left the Philippines for Vietnam on March 18.

“But I’m verifying,” De Lima said in a text message, adding that she had standing orders for both the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration for their units in the Interpol to coordinate with their counterparts “in whatever country the Reyeses may have been reported to have fled.”

Should there be a confirmation that the Reyes brothers were indeed in the US, the justice secretary said she would seek help from Washington to have them extradited.

The Reyes brothers were charged in court  for Ortega’s killing in January last year. They fled the country before an arrest warrant and hold departure order could be issued by the court.

Ortega had been known to give hard-hitting radio commentaries on illegal mining activities in Palawan.