Gerry Ortega

Gerardo Valeriano Ortega DVM (August 28, 1963 – January 24, 2011), better known simply as "Doc Gerry" or "Ka Gerry," was a Filipino journalist, veterinarian, politician, environmental activist, and community organizer best known for his work to promote crocodile farming in the Philippines and for his advocacy against mining on the island of Palawan.

Ortega was born on August 28, 1963, to Rafael "Totoy" Ortega, who was the municipal mayor of Aborlan, in the island province of Palawan.

Gerry Ortega earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Gregorio Araneta University Foundation near Manila.

In 1988, he married Patria Gloria "Patty" Innocencio in a church wedding in Bulacan.

They later had five children.

The eldest, Mika Ortega, worked as an Information, education, and communication officer of ABS-CBN Foundation's Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig.

Ortega was a devout Roman Catholic and was one of the local leaders of the Catholic group, Couples for Christ, in Palawan.

In 1988, Ortega began working at the Crocodile Farming Institute (since renamed the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center but still known widely and referred to below as the Crocodile Farm or CFI) in Irawan, Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

In 1989, he became the institute's director.

At the time, many thought the Crocodile Farm project, which was run by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, would never succeed.

But Ortega and his team made it not only viable but globally known.

Ortega and his team at the CFI also received considerable media attention caught the largest saltwater crocodile in the country.

In 1993 the CFI came up with the idea of farming out their crocodiles.

The idea sparked considerable interest, and over 80 potential crocodile farmers applied.

Nineteen of these were in attendance on February 1 to 3, 1999, when Ortega hosted the “Orientation on the Establishment of Crocodile Farms in the Philippines.” After screening applicants, the CFI gave 6 crocodile farmers their first crocodiles in early 2000.

Ortega's initiative thus represented the birth of the crocodile industry in the Philippines.

Ortega resigned from his post at Crocodile Farm in time to run for a position in the Provincial Board of Palawan during the elections of 2001.

He won and held that post until 2004.

It was during this time that Ortega is said to have first gained access to "information and documents about widespread corruption in the provincial government of Palawan."

As a result, Ortega became "the foremost critic of then Governor Mario Joel T. Reyes."

In 2004, Ortega ran for Governor of Palawan, under a good governance platform where he lost.

Governor Mario Joel T. Reyes was declared the winner.

Uncertain about their future career, given the political and economic situation in the Philippines, he and his wife Patty briefly considered taking a job abroad.

Sometime later that year, the ABS-CBN Foundation recruited Ortega to become project director of Bantay Kalikasan-Palawan.

In his capacity as project director of Bantay Kalikasan-Palawan, Ortega spearheaded the establishment of five community-based sustainable tourism sites operated by the community and for the community.

He was part of TV Patrol Palawan in 2006-2010.

By late 2009, Ortega had begun regularly receiving death threats because of the hard-hitting nature of his radio programs, at one point prompting the family to get a bodyguard for him.

Puerto Princesa City Former Mayor Edward Hagedorn revealed that Ortega was especially concerned when at one point the threats extended to his daughters.

Ortega has often been lauded as a hero of the Philippine Environment since his assassination on January 24, 2011, allegedly due to his anti-mining and anti-corruption advocacy.

Ortega explained the way these projects were structured to Philippine Star journalist Faizza Farinna Tanggol on January 22, 2011:

The five eco-tourism projects spearheaded by Bantay-Kalikasan Palawan under Ortega are:

At this time, Ortega also began serving as an anchor/commentator in a number of radio stations in Palawan, allowing him to promote his environmental advocacy and continue his anti-corruption campaign.

In January 2011, Ortega, together with Bantay Kalikasan decided to launch a broad campaign against mining in Palawan, in response to the approval of large scale mining by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) the month before.

Ortega was getting ready to travel to Manila for the launching of the Ten Million Signatures Campaign for the banning of mining operations in the province of Palawan when he was assassinated.

At around 10:30 in the morning of January 24, 2011, Ortega had just finished broadcasting on his morning show "Ramatak" for Radyo Mo Nationwide's (RMN) Palawan station dwAR-FM, and was supposed to prepare for a scheduled journey to Manila to promote the Ten Million Signatures campaign.

He stopped at an "ukay-ukay" (used clothing) thrift store in Puerto Princesa.

It was here that a gunman came up behind Ortega, and shot him in the back of the head.

After a brief chase, police apprehended the alleged shooter, Marlon Recamata, who confessed to the crime at the Puerto Princesa Police Office.

Recamata originally claimed that the motivation for the killing was simply robbery, but numerous parties including the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Asian Human Rights Commission, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn, and ABS CBN's Bantay Kalikasan, through its head Gina Lopez, pointed out that this was unlikely, given the way the murder was conducted, the fact that Ortega did not present himself as someone likely to be worth robbing.

Recamata also implicated three others in his statements: Rodolfo O. Edrad Jr., Dennis C. Aranas, and Armando R. Noel.