By Moira Encina
Eagle News Service
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has denied Peter Lim’s appeal of a March 19 resolution “vacating” a Department of Justice panel order that directed the dismissal of the criminal charges against him.
Guevarra said it was within then-Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre’s powers to issue the resolution that also directs the continuation of a preliminary investigation into the charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act filed against Lim.
According to Guevarra, Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10071, in particular, “vests” in the Department of Justice “the power to act directly on any probable miscarriage of justice within the jurisdiction of the prosecution staff, regional prosecution office, and the provincial prosecutor or the city prosecutor.”
In the 2016 case of former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima et al v. Mario Joel Reyes, Guevarra added the Supreme Court “upheld the validity of an order of reinvestigation issued” by the DOJ “in the absence of an appeal, as well as the constitution of a new panel of investigators to conduct such reinvestigation.”
“If an order to reopen a preliminary investigation is a valid exercise of the broad powers of the Secretary of Justice to prevent a probable miscarriage of justice, so is an order vacating a resolution and directing the continuation of a preliminary investigation,” Guevarra said, calling such an act “simply” an extension of the “entire preliminary process.”
Guevarra also denied Lim’s claim Aguirre’s order did “not expressly state the grounds for vacating the previous resolution of the panel of prosecutors.”
He said the order specifically states that the remand of the case to a new panel of prosecutors was “intended to allow complainant and respondents to submit additional evidence in support of their respective positions.”
As such, Guevarra said Lim can also not validly claim any denial of his right to be heard.
“Evidently premature”
As for Lim’s claim that Aguirre’s order “did not discuss, much less calibrate the evidence presented by the parties,” Guevarra said this was “evidently premature.”
He said in fact, the order allows for the “further reception of evidence.”
“By said order, this office has neither discarded nor passed upon evidence thus far presented,” he said.
Guevarra also dismissed Lim’s claim Aguirre issued the order only because of public indignation over the resolution issued by the first panel of prosecutors, noting that “personal motivation of such personalities and how they gain traction are irrelevant to the determination by this office of the legality and propriety of the issuance of the assailed order.”
The December 2017 order issued by the DOJ panel of prosecutors dismissed the drug charges against Lim, Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Co, Max Miro, Lovely Adam Impal, Ruel Mangalindan and Jaime Jun Pepito, and several others identified only by their aliases citing the alleged inconsistencies in the testimonies of the state’s sole witness.
News of the dismissal of the drug charges broke in February.
Faced with public indignation, Aguirre resigned after issuing the March 19 order.
