CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Currently detained at the Pampanga Provincial Jail on charges of large-scale estafa, Pampanga 3rd District board member Estelito Lim aka Shiwen Lim is set for transfer to a detention facility in Valenzuela City.
This, after Presiding Judge Mary Jane Dacara-Buenaventura of Regional Trial Court Branch 44 issued an order last March 17 for the final referral, citing a Supreme Court circular requiring cases of elected officials to be transferred outside of their political jurisdiction. On March 12, Buenaventura referred the 10 criminal cases against Lim — no bail for nine of the estafa cases and P48,000 for one – to the nearest judicial region, which is RTC Valenzuela City.
In a hearing on April 21, Presiding Judge Ayn Marie Grace Barit-Carig of RTC Branch 171 ordered Pampanga Provincial Jail warden Alain de Leon to transfer Lim to the Valenzuela City jail.
The first-time board member was taken into police custody on March 9 by virtue of a warrant of arrest dated Feb. 15, 2026 for “Estafa under Art. 315, Par. 2 (A) of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 1, Par. 2 of PD 1689” and “Estafa under Art. 315, Par 2 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by RA 10951 in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175” signed by Judge Buenaventura.
Backgrounder
Soon as Lim took office as board member in July 2025, groups of individuals, including overseas Filipino workers, started coming to the Pampanga Capitol claiming to have been “scammed” by Lim into turning over to him hard earned savings and retirement benefits in his investment schemes.
Nineteen individuals filed large-scale estafa cases against Lim at the City of San Fernando Prosecutor’s Office on Sept. 29, 2025, citing the non-payment of the principal and interest for their investments, ranging individually from P50,000 to P1,000,000.
Twenty-five others followed suit in October that same year.
They all alleged that Lim used his “influential” social media page to entice them to invest in his various business schemes including a restaurant, construction company, and shoe dealership.
Garnishment
On July 28, 2025, the Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 2 issued a notice of garnishment – Civil Case Mo. 10761 (Collection of Sum of Money and Damages) – to the manager of Land Bank of the Philippines, JASA, City of San Fernando upon the account of Lim and “all other accounts…goods, stocks, interest in stocks and shares and any other personal properties” of Lim in the bank’s possession and control sufficient to cover P1,130,000 “with conventional interest of 6% per annum from May 30, 2023 until its full satisfaction.”
The garnishment was signed by Christian Anthony A. Concepcion, Sheriff III.
Sum of money writ
On Aug. 13, 2025, Sheriff Marvin Minay served a writ of execution from the Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 115, Taguig City against Lim ordering him to pay Zyneserve Inc. the amount of P435,528.95 and P8,556.18 (cost of suit) reckoned from July 12, 2024. The sheriff said it took them a year to determine where Lim could be found. His election to the board pointed them to the sangguniang panlalawigan office to serve the writ.
Arrest order
The Municipal Circuit Trial Court, Third Judicial Region in Mexico town issued a warrant of arrest signed Aug. 11, 2025 by Presiding Judge Richard Gazzingan Evangelista against Lim for three counts of estafa.
Lim posted bail for this arrest warrant. Punto News Team/With media reports
