Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said yesterday government prosecutors are expediting the completion and release of their preliminary investigation on the possible criminal charges against trader and alleged drug lord Peter Lim.
Guevarra issued the statement as Lim petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the Department of Justice (DoJ) from proceeding with its preliminary investigation against him.
Unless the SC halts the criminal investigation a resolution will be released by the DOJ as soon as possible, said the justice secretary.
Lim sought injunctive relief from the SC in a 48-page petition against the order of then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre for his reinvestigation following an earlier dismissal by prosecutors of charges against him.
The initial dismissal of the complaint against Lim alleged lack of evidence.
The trader assailed prosecutors for allegedly using improper methods calculated to wrongfully convict him.
A new panel of prosecutors of the DoJ has filed drug dealing charges against self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, convicted drug lord Peter Co, and several other persons before the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
The DoJ panel is composed of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, Assistant State Prosecutor Anna Noreen Devanadera and Prosecution Attorney Herbert Calvin Abugan.
Espinosa, Co, Lovely Impal and Ruel Malindagan were indicted for violation of Section 26 (B) in relation to Section 5, Article II of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Acts of 2002.
The prosecutors explained that under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading is an offense distinct from drug trading.
They posited that the agreement to trade in drugs is the “gravamen” (most serious part) of such an offense and that there’s no necessity in producing the drugs themselves as corpus delicti.
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