In a first-person report, Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter Marlon Ramos recounted his rather tense encounter with Atty. Gigi Reyes, 53, the longtime senior aide of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile.
Ramos and Reyes ran into each other (in a manner of speaking) as the latter was led by her security escorts from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) out of the courtroom of the Sandiganbayan’s 3rd Division after the three-hour hearing on Thu, Jan 21.
Ramos wrote: “Reyes confronted this reporter apparently over the mention of her clutching a luxury Goyard handbag and wearing Tory Burch designer shoes when she attended the start of her trial for plunder in the Sandiganbayan on Wednesday (January 20).”
Ramos explained: “As she was walking down the stairs, Enrile’s former chief of staff handed over her pricey bag to one of the female BJMP personnel as if she was her personal assistant. Reyes was also seen looking for somebody. One of the jail guards, who was carrying the handbag for her, tried to stop her, but Reyes just shoved her aside.”
Reyes then told Ramos: “Yes? Yes? I’m here. Take a picture.”
Then, amid the commotion, a man wearing a black polo shirt went to Ramos and asked, “Are you Marlon Ramos?”
When Ramos confirmed his identity, the man then grabbed his left arm and accosted him about his report that was published on the front page of the Inquirer on Thu, Jan 21.
The man reportedly said, “You even wrote about the bag? Why do you have to include that in your story? You’re from the Inquirer.”
Ramos had answered, “Yes, exactly, sir. I’m from the Inquirer. Was there something wrong about it? Isn’t it true that she had that bag? Did I lie?”
The man only let up on Ramos when one of Reyes’ lawyers, Basco Tagarda, pacified him.
The report noted: “The Inquirer later learned from the court security personnel that the man was Reyes’ younger brother, Patrick Jean Gonzales.”
