|
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Drugs-probe whistleblower arrested
CEBU CITY -- A witness who testified against two Cebu businessmen in a House committee investigation was arrested Tuesday morning, more than three years after the justice department ordered him charged with drug trafficking.
Armed with a warrant of arrest issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Fortunato de Gracia Jr., a police team led by Chief Inspector Fermin Almendares arrested Bernard Liu, 45, at 7 a.m. in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, during his uncle's wake.
Sun.Star Network Online's 12th Asean Summit Watch
The warrant was dated December 18, 2003. It stemmed from a case filed against Liu for allegedly violating Section 3, Article 2 of Republic Act 6425 (the old anti-illegal drugs law), which penalizes the importation and transport of prohibited drugs.
No bail was recommended.
Upon the advice of his legal counsel, Liu at first declined to issue any statement regarding his arrest.
Senior Superintendent Jose Jorge Corpuz, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7, told reporters Liu's arrest was part of the agency's Oplan Pagtugis, which targets wanted persons.
'Pait'
Almendares, in a separate interview, said that Liu did not resist when they approached him at the funeral homes and informed him about the arrest warrant.
Later, however, he cried at the Palace of Justice.
"Pait ning gobernoha (This government is hopeless)," said Liu.
According to Liu, he only testified against his former employers, brothers Peter and Wellington Lim, because he wanted to put a stop to their alleged illegal activities.
His fellow whistleblower, Ananias Dy, was shot dead on July 8 last year, while he was on his way home to Nivel Hills, Cebu City.
The Lim brothers have denied any connection to the illegal drugs trade.
Instead of being detained at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC), Liu was committed to the stockade of the CIDG inside the city's police headquarters, Camp Sotero Cabahug.
Judge de Gracia granted the motion of lawyer Briccio Boholst to detain his client "anywhere except BBRC" pending the resolution to post bail.
Fearful
"Hadlok siya kay basin kuoton siya sud sa (He wouldn't feel safe in) BBRC. The death of Ananias gave credence to my client's fear," said Boholst.
Boholst said they are trying to convince the court to allow his client to post bail, because the evidence against him is not strong.
Cuenco, in a radio dyLA interview, said: "I did not abandon him."
He threatened to run after Judge de Gracia with an administrative case for "rendering an unjust judgment."
Cuenco insists that Liu cannot be charged in court because Liu's testimony before the House committee on dangerous drugs was covered by parliamentary immunity.
Also, he stressed, no other evidence exists.
In his testimony before the House committee chaired by Cuenco last August 2002, Liu said he had carried 40 kilos of shabu from Hong Kong to Cebu, allegedly for the Lim brothers.
Importation
That admission, however, became the basis for the justice department's decision to charge Liu with importation of illegal drugs.
Acting Justice Secretary Ma. Merceditas Gutierez reversed the earlier resolution signed by former Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary Simeon Datumanong, who ordered the filing of four criminal cases for drug trafficking against Liu.
Gutierrez ruled that Liu's admission, made during a House inquiry, does not merit the filing of the cases against him.
"In the same resolution, Gutierrez directed the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor to withdraw all four information or charge sheets filed against Liu, three of which are pending.
Earlier, Regional Trial Court Branch 13 Judge Meinrado Paredes decided to dismiss the case against Liu.
Judge Silvestre Maamo Jr. ordered the cases consolidated, while one more case is still with Judge Enriqueta Belarmino.
Judge de Gracia Jr., on the other hand, decided to proceed to trial, and issued a warrant of arrest against Liu.
Not covered
De Gracia issued two rulings that compelled Liu to face trial: a December 18, 2003 resolution that upheld the existence of probable cause against him and a February 18, 2004 ruling denying his motion to dismiss the charge.
In both, the judge said that while Liu's testimony before the House committee on dangerous drugs was covered by parliamentary immunity, the copy of Liu's statement that was submitted to him as evidence in the case appeared to have been signed at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters.
"The NBI headquarters is not the halls of Congress," the judge said.
In a previous order, however, Judge Paredes said that Liu cannot be compelled to become a witness against himself.
Without evidence, such as the shabu itself, Liu's admission is not enough to merit a conviction, he had added.
"The congressional inquiry (where Liu made his admission) was conducted in aid of legislation, not in aid of prosecution against Bernard Liu," Judge Paredes's resolution read. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (January 17, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Immigration official, 7 others face raps