Bato admits PNP can’t back up claim Peter Lim a drug lord

DRUG USER REGISTRATION A policeman stands guard as men form a line to register with the police
during the mass surrender of some 1,000 alleged drug users and pushers in Tanauan, Batangas province. AFP

CEBU CITY—Director General Ronald  “Bato” dela Rosa on Monday admitted the Philippine National Police did not have enough evidence to prove that Cebu businessman Peter Lim was a drug lord.

“So far, what we have are just intelligence reports that there’s a drug lord in Cebu with the name of Peter Lim. But we know that intelligence reports don’t hold water in court, ” the PNP chief said in a news conference here.

“I’m not saying that Peter Lim is not a drug lord. And I’m not saying that he’s a drug lord. But I don’t think intelligence reports would just come out of the blue. Drug lords would always deny their involvement in illegal drugs,” Dela Rosa said.

In Manila, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II told reporters the National Bureau of Investigation was seeking to establish “the identity and the culpability” of the Peter Lim that President Duterte said was a drug lord.

He said the Department of Justice could only begin an investigation once the NBI filed charges against the suspect.

There are  400 people named “Peter Lim” in Cebu City alone and 4,000 across the country, according to the NBI.

The Cebuano businessman met with Mr. Duterte in Davao City on July 15. Mr. Duterte told Lim to submit himself to  NBI investigation to prove that he was not a drug lord.

Dela Rosa said it was difficult to pin down drug lords in court. “They come in clean. You can’t pin them down through legal ways,” he said.

“For several years, these drug lords have reigned. They buy our prosecutors, judges, prison officials, and even the media. Now is the time to kill them. This is not a joke. This is war,” he said.

“If I see one of them now, and if no one is watching or there is no CCTV, I will really shoot them,” he added.

Lim, who owns at least five business entities in Cebu, denied being a drug lord although he and his brother Wellington were summoned before a congressional inquiry in 2001. The names of the brothers had appeared on a police watch list of top drug personalities since 1997.

Two former employees—Bernard Liu and Ananias Dy—testified against the Lim brothers during the inquiry, detailing the businessmen’s alleged involvement in illegal drugs. Liu and Dy, who had worked at Hilton Heavy Equipment owned by Peter and Wellington Lim, were subsequently killed separately.

But the NBI has so far failed to validate the accusations against the brothers. With a report from Estrella Torres in Manila

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