OSG to DOJ: Throw out Peter Lim’s bid to stop further probe on drug rap

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny for lack of merit businessman Peter Lim's motion to reinstate the resolution dismissing the police's drug complaint against him and several other alleged drug personalities.

In its comment to Lim's motion for reconsideration of ex-Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II's order "vacating" the complaint dismissal, the OSG, which represents the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said the March 19 order was backed by "laws, rules of procedure, and jurisprudence."

This was in response to a claim posed by Lim's lawyers in their motion filed earlier this month -- that Aguirre only based his order for further investigation on the "pulse of the people" and the "public outrage" that resulted from the drug complaint's dismissal last year.

The OSG's comment further said Kerwin Espinosa, one of the accused, publicly admitted his "illegal drug trading activity" before a Senate hearing and stated in his judicial affidavit the involvement of Lim, and convicted drug lord Peter Co.

"Under these circumstances, it is clear that the former Secretary of Justice issued the March 9, 2018 order because he had every reason to believe that the dismissal of the complaint would cause a probable miscarriage of justice to the entire People of the Philippines," the comment stated.

"Thus, contrary to respondent Peter Go Lim's claim, the former Secretary of Justice did not issue the March 9, 2018 [order] by reason of public outcry, or nationwide uproar," it added.

Aguirre's order, which also called for the reception of further evidence from both the police and the alleged drug personalities, was "dictated by substantial justice and the desire to have a comprehensive investigation," the OSG's comment argued.

It also said the directive was "within the power and authority" of the Secretary of Justice.

A panel of state of prosecutors dismissed the complaint against Lim and his co-accused due to weak evidence on December 20, 2017, but news of this outcome, which Aguirre had then said was "not final," only broke in March 2018.

Aguirre resigned less than a month after, but not before ordering a "wide open review" of the complaint. He was replaced by Menardo Guevarra, former Senior Deputy Executive Secretary, who vowed his "top priority" was a review on previous DOJ actions on the Lim case and that of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

Napoles was placed under provisional coverage of the DOJ's witness protection program under Aguirre's watch. — RSJ, GMA News