Lim’s fear

Months after President Rodrigo Duterte identified a certain “Peter Lim” as among the big names in the illegal drugs trade in the country, a complaint has finally been filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Cebu businessman Peter Lim and several others for allegedly engaging in the trade of illegal drugs in Makati and in Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas. The complaint was filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

The filing of the complaint ended speculations on who the “Peter Lim” that the President mentioned was. And now that the facts of the case have been presented, the businessman will be given the chance to prove his innocence. This early, Lim has described the complaint as fabricated and vowed to face it head-on. “I’ve never been in that business and I will never be in that business,” he said.

But these are really interesting times for Lim considering the setup currently in place. The police served him the subpoena to attend an Aug. 14 DOJ hearing on his case only days after the bloody police raid in Ozamiz City that led to the death of Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, his wife, his brother, his sister and 11 others. The mayor was also one of those in the President’s drug list.

“I’m scared for my life because of the false accusations against me,” Lim said. Considering the circumstances, the fear is not surprising. In the aftermath of the Ozamiz incident, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald dela Rosa had said: “This should serve as a warning to everyone, na ang PNP walang sinasanto pagdating sa enforcement ng batas...Kapag ooperate-an ka, ooperate-an ka talaga.”

Dela Rosa was actually issuing that warning to narco-politicians, but it would not be surprising if Lim feels alluded to, although to be fair, Lim’s situation is totally different from those of the Parojinogs. In a way, this could also be a test of the willingness of the Duterte administration to follow the legal route in the conduct of its war on drugs.