Former Palawan governor Joel T. Reyes, mastermind behind environmental journalist Gerry Ortega's murder, formally surrenders to NBI

Former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, accused as the brains in the 2011 murder of broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega, surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday, according to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.

The PTFoMS confirmed Reyes’ surrender to the NBI’s National Capital Region office on the night of Sept. 11.

Further details regarding the surrender have yet to be released by the NBI and the task force.

Ortega, a critic of Reyes, was shot and killed on Jan. 24, 2011, in a thrift shop in Puerto Princesa, Palawan after completing his radio program.

The journalist frequently criticized local politicians, including Reyes, whom he accused of corruption and allowing the exploitation of Palawan’s natural resources.

Reyes, who fled the country in 2012 alongside his brother, then-Coron mayor Mario, was apprehended in Thailand in 2015.