THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City to issue a hold departure order (HDO) against businessman Peter Lim following his indictment for his alleged involvement in the country’s illegal drug trade.
The motion for the issuance of an HDO was filed by a DOJ panel of prosecutors led by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera who last week found probable cause to indict Lim for conspiracy to commit illegal drug trade.
In their four-page ex-parte motion for the issuance of an HDO, the prosecutors stressed that Lim and his co-accused are facing trial for violation of Section 26 (B) in relation to Section 5, Article II (conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading) of Republic Act No. 9165, a capital offense punishable by reclusion perpetua.
They added that Lim has a history of frequent travel abroad and has the resources to seek refuge in other country to escape prosecution.
“He (Lim) is still at large, since there is no warrant of arrest issued against him as of this writing. He is clearly a flight risk given vast resources,” the prosecutors said in justifying their plea for an HDO.
“Thus, in order to frustrate the ends of justice, as when accused Lim flees to another country in order to escape Philippine criminal jurisdiction, it is imperative that a hold departure order be issued directing the Commission of the Bureau of Immigration to prevent accused Peter Go Lim from leaving the Philippines during the pendency of these cases,” they added.
It can be recalled that last month, Navera’s panel found probable ause to indict self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, Wu Tuan a.k.a. Peter Co, Lovely Imperial and Ruel Malindagan for the same offense. Lim was a co-respondent in the said complaint.
Last Friday, Navera’s panel finally ruled to indict Lim for the said offense.
It can be recalled that the case stirred controversy that led to the resignation of former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II after a previous panel of prosecutors dismissed the case against all the respondents due to lack of evidence and supposed inconsistencies in the testimony of Espinosa’s aide Marcelo Adorco, accused-turned witness, in the complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
Adorco served as driver and bodyguard of Espinosa.
Due to intense public outcry, Aguirre was forced to abandon the resolution of the first panel, which was issued on December 20, 2017, but was leaked to the media only last March.
In an order issued last March 19, Aguirre ordered the complaint to be remanded to a new panel of prosecutors led by Navera for purposes of conducting the continuation of the preliminary investigation/clarificatory hearing and to allow the complainant and respondents to submit additional evidence in support of their respective positions.
In reversing the resolution of the previous panel, Navera’s panel leaned to the testimonies of Adorco, who identified Espinosa, Lim, Co, Impal and Malindagan as his cohorts.
In his testimony, Adorco claimed Lim had supplied narcotics in “staggering amounts” to Espinosa for more than two years.
He said one such transaction involved the delivery of 50 kilos of shabu (crystal meth), which Lim personally handed to Espinosa at the parking lot of Cash & Carry supermarket in Makati City on June 7, 2015.