Court denies bail to jailed Pampanga board member

Citing “strong evidence of his guilt,” a Valenzuela City court denied the petition for bail of detained Pampanga Board Member Estelito “Shiwen” Lim, who is facing six cases of large-scale estafa. PHOTO BY TONETTE T. OREJAS/INQUIRER Central Luzon CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Citing “strong evidence of his guilt,” a Valenzuela City court denied the petition for bail of detained Pampanga Board Member Estelito “Shiwen” Lim, who is facing six cases of large-scale estafa. “In this case, as comprehensively discussed… the Court finds that the evidence presented by the prosecution at this preliminary stage constitutes strong evidence of his guilt of the crimes charged. Hence his petition for bail must be denied,” wrote Presiding Judge Ayn Marie Grace Barit-Carig of the Regional Trial Court Branch 171 in a 33-page July 16 resolution. The INQUIRER obtained the decision on Tuesday. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Pampanga Board member surrenders on multiple estafa charges Lim’s counsel refiled a motion to admit the accused to bail after his transfer to the Valenzuela court last April. The transfer from the Pampanga provincial jail complied with a Supreme Court circular requiring cases involving elected officials to be held outside of their political jurisdiction. The nearest judicial region is the RTC in Valenzuela City. Barit-Carig heard the testimonies of private complainants and witnesses, and studied the evidence against Lim, who multiple complainants accused of failing to return capital and interest on investments made in his restaurants, shoe businesses, and other ventures. Records from the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that his firm was not licensed to solicit investments. According to the resolution, the prosecution did not present its evidence to the judge in two other cases. But Judge Barit-Carig wrote in her resolution that her court “finds no cogent reason to grant bail in these two cases considering that the denial of bail in the companion cases effectively precludes the provisional liberty of the accused.” Article continues after this advertisement In an interview before he was jailed, Lim said he has been trying to settle with the complainants by offering to pay them in installments. Elected in his first term, Lim had represented the third district of Pampanga in the local legislative board until he surrendered to Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda last March after the court issued an arrest warrant. Article continues after this advertisement Lim also has pending warrants for other cases. This marks the first time a sitting Pampanga provincial board member has been arrested on criminal charges. READ: Pampanga exec charged with estafa set for transfer to Valenzuela City Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. In August 2025, Lim posted P18,000 as bail for each count in three estafa cases. Last July, the Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 2 in the City of San Fernando issued a notice garnishing Lim’s salary to cover P1.13 million in a civil collection case./coa