Coral poachers flee PH

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday demanded the sacking of two prosecutors for sitting on criminal cases against a Chinese trader and his wife who later fled the country after being tagged in a foiled attempt to smuggle P35 million worth of black corals.

Enrile also directed the Department of Justice to seek the extradition of Li Yu Ming, alias Joe Pring, and his Filipino wife Olivia Li, who reportedly escaped before authorities could place them on an immigration hold-departure order.

At the resumption of the Senate hearing on the smuggling attempt, Enrile thrashed Zamboanga City Assistant Prosecutors Alfredo Jimenez Jr. and Gladdy Bernabe for delaying the resolution of poaching cases against the Li couple.

Enrile called the prosecutors inept and asked for their resignation, even as he recommended that the justice department take over the investigation of the cases against the couple.

“They have to be brought here to answer [charges]. We’re not going to be satisfied with filing a case. We want a conviction,” he said.

Customs agents seized a P35-million cargo of black corals, sea shells and stuffed green sea turtles that arrived at the Manila port on May 1 from Cotabato.

The marine species, believed to have been gathered in Moro Gulf, were bound for either China or Europe, where the items could be fashioned into jewelry, officials said.

Agents under Senate Sergeant at Arms Jose Balajadia and policemen served the arrest warrants on the Li couple in their residences in Zamboanga City on Friday, but they failed to locate them.

It turned out that the Li couple had taken a Cebu Pacific flight from Zamboanga City to Manila, and a Cebu Pacific connecting flight to Hong Kong on June 7, Balajadia told the Senate environment committee.

Olivia Li was believed to have fled to Malaysia through the southern Philippines backdoor, said Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, chair of the Senate committee.

The committee issued arrest warrants against the Li couple after they skipped last week’s hearing.

Watch list orders

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Paras said he signed on June 3 three watch list orders for Olivia Li, cargo consignee Exequiel Navarro, and Kim Atilano and Ireneo Penuliar of JKA Transport System.

He later issued another watch list order for Li Yu Ming, and Yuscom warehouse owners Benny Yu and Rosario Yu.

Paras said the Philippines had an extradition treaty with China and its special administrative region Hong Kong.

He said the justice department could apply for their extradition once their whereabouts are confirmed, and once charges have been filed against them.

The two cases involving the fishing and taking of corals from the sea were assigned to Jimenez and Bernabe for preliminary investigation in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

But they managed to resolve the cases only this month because they said they were saddled with other cases.

A disappointed Enrile asked Jimenez point-blank if he sat on the case in exchange for financial consideration.

“It took you 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 to protect the interest of Juan dela Cruz. Meantime, Pring’s interest was being served,” Enrile told the prosecutor.

“We’re in this government to function for the Republic of the Philippines Inc.,” he said. “Do you think you deserve to stay in the service considering what you had done?”

Lax supervision

Jimenez maintained that what he did was in the “interest of service and country.”

Enrile said: “If I were in your place I’d quit because I can tell you I know how to prosecute cases as much as you know. It won’t take that long because of the simplicity of the cases.”

Enrile also took the justice department to task for laxity in the prosecution service.

“I must tell your department was lax in your supervision of your prosecution service. Because here is a case in point, a grave criminal case was languishing in the hands of this prosecutor for years without any sanction imposed by the department,” he said.

What incensed Enrile more were revelations by Jimenez and Bernabe that they recommended the filing of charges against Li Yu Ming in the Metropolitan Trial Court, not the Regional Trial Court.

Since the penalty for the crime was 12 years to 20 years or a fine of P20,000, the case should have been filed in the Regional Trial Court, Enrile pointed out.

Jimenez explained that the evidence only showed possession of corals.

‘Relieve these guys’

“You’re defending him. Better quit and become a lawyer of Mr. Pring. If I were the prosecutor, I have to charge him with a bigger crime. Let him use that defense,” Enrile told Jimenez.

Enrile later said: “I address this question to the department. Maybe this time the department can take over the case, reinvestigate it, file the proper charges, and then relieve these guys from their job and investigate them for the satisfaction of the Senate. Then we ask for the extradition of the couple so we can show to the world that we’re earnest in enforcing our laws.”

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters that she would issue a show-cause order directing Jimenez and Bernabe to explain the delay in the resolution of criminal complaints filed against the couple.

“I want to know exactly what really happened to that case, how come it’s still pending and and if I see that (Bernabe) should really be accountable for the delay, then I will consider relieving him,” De Lima told reporters.

“But there should be due process,” she added. With a report from Marlon Ramos