Still no sign of Peter Lim in Cebu

CEBU CITY, Philippines – There is still no sign of alleged drug lord and businessman Peter Lim in Cebu or anywhere in the country.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) Director Wardley Getalla admitted that they are finding it difficult to monitor the whereabouts of Lim, who went into hiding after the issuance of the arrest warrant against him for illegal drugs trafficking filed against him by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in August 2018.

“Late last year, based sa ating monitoring, wala na siya didto sa Cebu. Pero until now nagcocoordinate kami sa different agencies to identify his whereabouts,” said Getalla.

Getalla said that one of the challenges in finding Lim is the lack of personnel of PDEA-7 to focus on finding him. They are hoping that their coordination with the police and the community would be able to help.

“Marami tayong success stories kung saan may naarestong drug personality dahil sa pagbibigay  impormasyon ng community,” he said.

According to Getalla, the movements of drug personalities are usually very fluid, which could be the case with Lim.

On August 20, 2018, the police tried to serve the arrest warrant against the businessman on his two listed addresses but they failed to find Lim.

One team went to his old house in Barangay Kasambagan in Cebu City but a housemaid claimed that she had not seen Lim in the 10 years she had been working there.

Another team went to another house of Lim in Barangay Banilad, also in Cebu City, but a caretaker of the house claimed that he had not seen his employer for a long time.

“Maaring nandito na naman siya sa Cebu. Pabago-bago po yung update kasi masisigurado lang natin yan kung may positibong impormasyon galing sa mga agencies na nakmomonitor ng kanyang galaw,” said Getalla.

The warrant of arrest against Lim was issued by Judge Gina Bibat-Palamos of the Regional Trial Court Branch 65 in Makati City for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly for “selling, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of any dangerous drug.”

President Rodrigo Duterte publicly called out Lim in 2016, alleging that he was one of the biggest drug dealers in the country.

But Lim denied the charges, saying he was not the Peter Lim named by the President. /bmjo