MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday ordered the arrest of a Chinese trader and his Filipino wife suspected of being behind the massive illegal exportation of endangered corals and marine species in Zamboanga City and nearby areas in southern Mindanao.
Enrile authorized the arrest of Li Yu Ming and Olivia Lim Li following the recommendation of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, chairman of the Senate committee on environment, investigating the massive exportation of corals and other endangered marine species in Mindanao.
“You ask the warrant from the Senate, and I will authorize it. We will have a manhunt against this man, and we will show these other law enforcement agencies how we do a manhunt. And I’ll teach you how and we will arrest this Yu Ming,” Enrile told the committee during the hearing yesterday.
The senators noted Li also uses as aliases Jose Pring, Jok Beng, Jo Beng Li, Nguyen Li and Lee Yu Ming.
Zubiri said the couple must appear before the Senate and explain why they have resorted to exportation of endangered marine species.
“I want to ask them where these (marine) products came from. Do they have protectors in the local government and the police? We want to extract these (information) from them,” Zubiri said.
The Senate also issued a subpoena against Benny Yu and his wife Rosario, the owners of the warehouses where the tons of corals and illegal marine contraband were seized in Zamboanga City.
Zubiri said the Department of Justice (DOJ) had also issued a hold departure order against Li and Olivia, along with other people involved in the illegal exportation of corals and endangered marine life.
In Zamboanga City, Mayor Celso Lobregat added the shippers and operators of the warehouses are also facing two cases of illegal shipment of corals and shells before the city prosecutor’s office.
Lobregat said the interagency body of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) had filed the complaint.
Lobregat added the Li couple was the subject of a similar complaint filed by the Naval Forces Western Mindanao in 2006 and 2008 for illegally transporting marine products.
Lobregat said the interagency body will continue to help the Senate in the investigation and the possible prosecution of the people behind the illegal transporting of banned marine life.
The Li couple, however, remained at large.
Senate sergeant-at-arms Jose Balajadia said they would immediately look for the listed addresses of the couple to serve the arrest order.
Balajadia said the Senate security officers will immediately fly to Zamboanga and serve the warrant on their last known addresses.
“We will coordinate with the Interpol and other agencies of government, especially if we have extradition treaty with China,” Zubiri later told a press conference.
Zubiri also wanted the Zamboanga prosecutors to determine why the cases against the Li couple have not been resolved in the last five years.
In yesterday’s hearing, Enrile said he was unimpressed by the excuses made by the officials of JKA Transport, which was responsible for the transport of the illicit cargo from Zamboanga to Manila.
“These guys are not powerful enough to steal the wealth of this nation. They are committing a crime against the Filipino people. Nobody planted those corals. God created them and they were destroying it. They’re causing injury to the livelihood of many people,” Enrile said.
“They degrade the marine environment of the country. And it is the right of this government and the people and we, the leaders of the people, to exercise self-defense. My God, there must be order here,” Enrile remarked.
‘Shoot if you have to’
Enrile also directed the authorities to go after the suspects and to be more direct if they had to.
“You cannot stop poaching in the marine resources of this country unless you shoot some of them …that’s how brutal it is. That’s law enforcement,” he said.
Zubiri has started to route the order of arrest against the couple, who failed to attend yesterday’s hearing. A total of 14 senators have signed the order so far.
Zubiri expressed belief the Li couple and owners of the warehouse are members of a big syndicate.
“I don’t understand how these personalities can actually operate in the Philippines with impunity,” he said.
Zubiri said the Senate will also issue subpoenas and invitations to Yu and wife Rosario, owners of the warehouse Yuscom Corp. where the endangered marine species were seized in recent operations.
The senators learned the NBI had been slow in following up the complaints against Li in Zamboanga City.
This prompted Enrile to berate the prosecutors in Zamboanga and the NBI for their failure to build up a strong case against the Li couple.
During the same hearing, Kim Atillano, manager of the JKA Transport System, denied knowing the goods loaded in the two 20-foot container vans seized by the Bureau of Customs at Pier 15 in Manila were contraband.
Ireneo Penuliar, the supposed contact person of JKA Trading in Manila, said that he did not know that the cargo contained illegal items.
Penuliar appeared before the Senate after the committee issued a subpoena against him. He merely repeated the excuse of the cargo’s consignee Exequiel Navarro, who also denied knowing that the two container vans seized by Customs officials contained the contraband.
Before the Senate suspended its hearing, Enrile directed the national prosecutors service, the DOJ, DENR, BFAR and NBI officials as well as Mayor Lobregat to ensure that all the evidence are not moved from the warehouse without notice from the Senate.
The Senate will conduct its fourth hearing next Monday. – With Roel Pareño