To be honest, the dismissal of drug trafficking charges against Cebuano businessman Peter Lim wasn’t totally unexpected given how the administration’s case buildup capabilities leave so much to be desired.
Despite two past congressional investigations that pointed to Peter Lim as allegedly being involved in the illegal drug trade in the Visayas, if not in the country, the government failed anew to produce evidence that would prove his drug links beyond the preliminary investigation stage.
The failure is made all the more dramatic and significant considering how President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to kill Lim on TV if the Cebuano businessman leave the country and make the mistake of returning to native soil.
At that time, Lim was shown to be quite beside himself profusely assuring President Duterte of his innocence from the allegations of drug trafficking and promising to cooperate with authorities in the investigation.
More than a year and several months after that incident, Lim is again cleared of any illegal drug ties this time by the Department of Justice (DOJ) after it dismissed the case filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group against him.
In dismissing the case, the DOJ cited the weak evidence based on the testimony of whom they described as a “self-serving” witness named Marcelo Adorco who claimed that he met Lim and Espinosa in Thailand for the delivery of 50 kilos of powdered meth three years ago.
With the charges dismissed against Lim, the public is left to wonder what would become of Espinosa who was also cleared along with Lim and several others of drug trafficking charges.
More to the point, what about the personalities mentioned by President Duterte in his “drug matrix” of sorts that included Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot and former Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama?
And what about detained Sen. Leila de Lima, whose alleged drug links stemmed from a photo with Kerwin and the difficult to corroborate testimonies of inmates and her former driver turned confidant?
President Duterte’s pledge to review the case on Lim can only do so much to douse public skepticism on the capabilities of the Justice Department to build a strong enough case, though it was enough to cause another bout of anxiety on Lim and his legal team.
The key element is Kerwin whom the DOJ wants to testify against Lim.
But if Kerwin doesn’t cooperate, how can they justify his continued stay in the Witness Protection Program?
It remains to be seen whether public confidence will remain high in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
If anything, the government’s failure to build a case against Lim may stir public anger and drive more Filipinos to support extrajudicial killings to eliminate drug suspects.