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Sunday, September 16, 2007
Whistleblower in drug case picks silence
CEBU CITY -– Whistleblower Bernard Liu will not file counter-charges against the people responsible for his detention.
Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City chapter president Briccio Boholst told Sun.Star Cebu that suing lawyer Elias Espinoza for “malicious prosecution” is not on their agenda.
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Espinoza is the complainant in the case of importation of illegal drugs against Liu.
“We can file a case for malicious prosecution if the crime was not committed. But the court did not say it was not done; it dismissed the case for lack of evidence. We can although argue why he was the one prosecuted when he was only a witness, but maglisod ta (that’s going to be difficult),” Boholst explained.
Boholst also said that reviving the complaint against brothers Peter and Wellington Lim is almost impossible.
“It will be difficult without Ananias (Dy),” he said, referring to Liu’s fellow-witness who was gunned down and killed last year.
Espinoza, the counsel of the Lim brothers, said it is unfair for people to think that his clients are planning to kill Liu.
Although he respects the decision of the court, Espinoza questioned the pronouncement of Representative Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south district) that the House committee on dangerous drugs, which he once chaired, will give Liu a monthly allowance of P5,000.
Espinoza said doing so has no basis.
Liu and Dy were witnesses in a House committee investigation on illegal drugs in 2002 where Liu admitted importing 40 kilos of shabu from Hong Kong to Cebu.
In their testimony, they linked the Lim brothers to the illegal drugs trade, a charge the brothers had denied.
Acting Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Patrocinio Comendador, in a mobile phone interview, said arrangements have been made between his office and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 about the security escorts for Liu.
Because of the “urgency of the need,” Comendador said the CCPO immediately detailed round-the-clock escorts for Liu, although he did not say how many.
Comendador said he is yet to receive a formal request to provide security for Liu, but Cebu City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr., who heads the committee on public order and safety, already coordinated with him last Friday afternoon about the matter.
He said there is no need to make a threat assessment on Liu considering that Dy was shot dead on July 8 last year. Dy’s death remains unsolved.
Comendador, however, said the CCPO can only provide a maximum of 30 days “length of time to secure an individual person.” Beyond that, he said, it has to be endorsed and approved by Police Regional Office 7 Director Silverio Alarcio Jr.
The fate of Liu was also one of the highlights of the gathering of lawyers where the issue of human rights was tackled.
Boholst, in his speech, said Liu is a victim of human rights violation because instead of being rewarded for his courage in divulging big-time drug peddlers, he was sued and detained.
Liu was released last Friday after Regional Trial Court Judge Fortunato de Gracia granted his demurrer to evidence, a pleading for the court to dismiss the case for lack of evidence.
But Liu still has to stay in the office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and will be provided two security escorts because of possible “retaliation.” (KNT/JST/Sun.Star Cebu)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (September 16, 2007 issue)
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