Palace urges Peter Lim to surrender, prove innocence

FILE: Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announces during a press briefing in Malacañang on July 19, 2018 that the Landbank of the Philippines, the Department of Agrarian Reform, and the Department of Agriculture have launched the Accessible and Sustainable Lending Program for Small Farmers. The program aims to increase the income of small farmers, especially the Agrarian Reform beneficiaries, by providing them with financial assistance for their agricultural needs at a low interest rate of 6% per annum. TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Malacañang asked Cebu-based businessman Peter Lim to surrender himself to authorities and prove to the court that the allegations thrown against him are not true.

“We’re asking Peter Lim, please surrender. If you are innocent, prove your innocence in court. You will be given your day in court,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, August 23.

“I think we have proven to the whole world that we have an independent judiciary and you have nothing to fear by way of being a victim of injustice. We have competent courts, so I think he should surrender,” he added.

Last week, August 14, the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 65, through Judge Gina Bibat-Palamos, ordered the arrest of Lim and his co-accused Kerwin Espinosa, Marcelo Adorco, and Ruel Malindangan for charges of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading.

According to a report by Super Radyo dzBB on Monday, August 20, Cebu police tried to serve arrest warrants on the alleged big-time drug lord; however, the latter was nowhere to be found in his two addresses in Cebu.

In his press briefing, Roque said there was no information yet whether or not Lim left the country.

He added that there were also no efforts from Lim to reach out to President Rodrigo Duterte, stressing that the Chief Executive does not personally know the accused.

“I repeat, noh. I think the most that he had was there was an occasion where they stood as wedding sponsors,” Roque said.

“He (Duterte) cannot deny not having been in an occasion with him because I said, there was a wedding that they were together but that’s the full extent,” he added.

Apart from Roque, Lim’s lawyers, who are ‘clueless’ themselves to where their client is, earlier asked Lim to voluntarily surrender “so that he can prove his innocence.”

“He has not contacted them ever since the news broke that drug charges were filed against him in court,” they said in a statement on Wednesday, August 22.

“They are uncertain whether they will still be retained as counsel as they did not succeed in having the charges dismissed despite the weakness of the evidence against him,” it added.