Suspects in Filipino journalist murder arrested

Former provincial governor Joel Reyes and his brother Mario Reyes, an ex-municipal mayor, were arrested by Thai police on the southern island of Phuket, Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima stated.

"Immigration authorities are now processing their deportation papers," the official added.

The brothers were wanted for allegedly ordering the killing of radio journalist Gerardo Ortega (pictured above). The radio journalist and prominent environmentalist was shot in January 2011 by a hit man who implicated the Reyes brothers and a former provincial administrator in the crime.

Gerardo Ortega was a critic of local officials in the province of Palawan and opposed large-scale mining in that region. His radio reports exposed the alleged misuse of government funds by the Reyes brothers.

"The arrest of the long-wanted Reyes brothers provides an opportunity for pursuing the ends of justice," presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma said. "We acknowledge the efforts of Interpol and Thai authorities in making this possible."

'Very difficult' press situation in the Philippines

The Reyes brothers had been in hiding since 2012, when criminal charges were filed against them for the murder of Ortega.

The victim's daughter, Mika Ortega, welcomed the arrests. However, she underlined that there was still a long fight ahead to make sure the master minds of the crime were convicted.

According to the Paris-based watch group Reporters Without Borders, the Philippines continues to be among the countries with a "very difficult" press situation. It ranked 141 out of the 180 countries surveyed by Reporters Without Borders in its 2015 World Press Freedom Index.

More than 140 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1986, according to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.

das/rg (AP, dpa)