The Philippine government will seek the help of the International Police to locate alleged drug lord Peter Go Lim by placing his name under its “Red Notice,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Monday.
Lim faces two counts of violations of section 26 in relation to section 5, Article II of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 pending before a Makati court.
Guevarra hinted that it was possible that Lim might have slipped out of the country through the backdoor since the Philippines has “a very extensive coastline.”
“Aside from intensifying efforts on the part of our intelligence and law enforcement agents to track down Peter Go Lim, we may also request the Interpol to assist if there are indeed indications that this fugitive has slipped out of our country,” Guevarra stressed.
Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar also on Monday ordered three key offices to determine the whereabouts of Peter Lim.
"We are checking on that and I have given a directive to the DI (Directorate for Intelligence), PDEG (PNP Drug Enforcement Group), and CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) to check on this. We have no exact information yet to validate this,” Eleazar said in a press conference in Camp Crame.
At the same time, Eleazar ordered an accounting of all dismissed drug cases since 2016 as part of the "intensified cleanliness policy."
“Having data and information on these dismissed drug cases since the war on drugs started in 2016 would truly help the PNP leadership determine the interventions needed so that the junking by the courts of drug cases filed by the police would be avoided in the future,” he told reporters.
He added that the PNP was aiming to improve the conviction rate, particularly in drug-related cases, noting that a higher conviction rate would reflect the success of the campaign against illegal drugs.
They were also looking into the alleged negligence of police officers as well as those who are in cahoots with drug suspects as among the factors contributing to the dismissal of drug cases, Eleazar added.
According to Guevarra, while the Bureau of Immigration might have no records that Lim had left the country, he was not discounting the possibility that the Cebu-based businessman might have left using the “backdoor” – a reference to the country's southern ports.
“Per BI records, there is no record of departure by Peter Go Lim. His last recorded foreign travel was in 2017,” he said.
Lim’s passport had expired in 2019 and there is an active hold departure order issued against him in 2018.
Guevarra admitted that they could not ascertain Lim’s whereabouts, saying he might have used the Mindanao route to slip out of the country.
“We cannot really be sure. Our country has a very extensive coastline. There are known backdoors in our southern borders,” he noted.
Guevarra made the statement after Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año earlier said Lim had left the country.
On the part of the BI, its spokesperson Dana Mengote-Sandoval said, “We note that Peter Lim has numerous namesakes, with at least one having left the country recently.
However, upon thorough verification with our system, as well as document matching, Mr. Peter Go Lim, the subject of news articles, has no recent departure record as of date.”
The BI’s information is limited to the airports and seaports. “If he used a fraudulent passport, then our equipment would be able to detect it.”
Lim is allegedly one of the suppliers of another drug trafficker Kerwin Espinosa. He was reportedly listed in the order of battle of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and was indicted by the DOJ on charges of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading.
He is also said to be one of the campaign supporters of President Duterte in the 2016 elections.
Meanwhile, almost five years after his administration launched a wide campaign against illegal drugs, President Rodrigo Duterte said the drug problem was a “never-ending one” and if not resolved, could put the country under the control of the narco-politicians.
This, according to Duterte during the launching of the Global Coalition of Lingkod Bayan Advocacy Support Groups and Force Multipliers that aims to build a strong collaborative partnership with the community in support of the ongoing campaign against criminality and terrorism on June 25.
“But if you want to see how it can destroy a country, just look at Mexico, [Sinaloa]. They are the ones who dictate who will run for governor in the local areas, who run for the mayor. It’s narco-politics,” Duterte said in his speech during the event organized by the Philippine National Police.
According to the government’s #RealNumbersPH data as of April 30 this year, the drug law enforcement agencies have conducted 200,632 anti-illegal drug operations, resulting in the arrest of 289,622 drug dependents and death of 6,117 people since July 1, 2016.
Operatives have also seized nearly P60 billion worth of illegal drugs, including some 7,748 kilograms of shabu worth P48.70 billion aside from dismantling 784 drug dens and clandestine laboratories nationwide.
“This is the one side story of people (who) said 7,000 (were) killed. Well, that was—five years (ago when) I started to declare war (against illegal drugs). But the other side is how many policemen and soldiers did I lose? Aplenty,” Duterte said.
He reiterated he would continue to defend police officers who perform their duties in accordance with the law.
“The policemen, do not worry, let me know if that is the case. I will defend you. I will because I gave the lecture and I gave you the guarantee that I will protect you as long as you do your duty in accordance with law,” he said.
But Duterte reminded that anyone under arrest and “begging for his life” must be spared from getting killed.
He said responding police officers and drug law enforcers could only use their guns if the culprits offer resistance.
“You are not supposed to kill a person when he is down, crying, kneeling, begging for his life,” Duterte said.
“That is the essence of the arrest. If he goes voluntarily with you, good. That would be the ideal arrest. But if they resist arrest violently, then you have every right also to do your thing, commensurate.”
He said almost 1,000 people arrested each day were connected with illegal drugs, leaving many dysfunctional families in the country.
“And the drugs continue to be imported, getting inside into our communities and continue to plunder the lives of people and whatever income,” Duterte said.
“There are shabu and they continue to number in billions until now. And the human rights (lawyers) are not even worried about how many children would still be destroyed and homes are, I said, rendered dysfunctional.”
He said criminality, illegal drugs, and corruption were among the problems he promised to address during the election campaign in 2016.
Meanwhile, Eleazar said the family of drug suspect Antonio Dalit, a.k.a. Tala, had expressed no interest in pursuing administrative or criminal cases against Laguna police operatives.
Dalit, one of Laguna’s 10 most wanted, was killed, along with 16-year-old Jhondi Helis, in a June 16 police operation in Biñan City.
Eleazar said that the Police Regional Office 4-A’s fact-finding investigation task group, formed by Calabarzon PRO Director Brig. Gen. Eliseo DC Cruz, reported that Dalit’s family, particularly the drug suspect’s sister, had expressed no interest to pursue complaints against the Laguna police operatives for the death of their kin.
“Lydia Dalit said the family believes there was no overkill and that they are aware that Tala is a known drug pusher and ex-convict,” Eleazar said.
On the other hand, the PNP Chief pointed out that Helis’ mother, Cristina, asked for more time to file a complaint-affidavit with the task group and requested investigators to obtain her sworn statement until after the teenager’s burial on July 1. With Roy Tomandao
