Akala lusot na! Ex-gov Joel Reyes ordered re-arrested by Sandiganbayan for fear he’d fly the coop anew

Former Palawan governor Joel Reyes has been ordered re-arrested by the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division over his conviction over the anomalous issuance of small-scale mining permits.

The anti-graft court granted the motion of the prosecution to have Reyes arrested as it agreed he was a flight risk having already fled the country before.

In its resolution, the court pointed out that the Supreme Court (SC) has declared that “after conviction, the presumption of innocence terminates and, accordingly, the constitutional right to bail ends.”

“From then on, the grant of bail is subject to judicial discretion,” it said.

The Sandiganbayan had sentenced Reyes to a maximum of eight years imprisonment back in August 2017 after finding him guilty of graft.

Under the graft case, Reyes issued a small-scale mining permit to Olympic Mines and Development Corporation (OMDC) from April 6, 2006 to April 5, 2008 even though the firm mined and extracted the annual maximum of 50,000 dry metric tons of ore set in its previous permit.

Since the conviction is under appeal, the Sandiganbayan allowed Reyes bail.

Reyes and his brother, former Coron mayor Mario Reyes, fled the country in 2012 after the Puerto Princesa regional trial court (RTC) issued arrest warrants against them over a murder case charged against them concerning the death of broadcaster Gerry Ortega.

The Reyes brothers only returned to the Philippines after authorities in Thailand arrested them in Phuket, Thailand in September 2015.

Reyes was freed from detention on January 5 after the Court of Appeals (CA) granted his appeal and cleared him of the murder case.