ISAFP backs Marcelino in drug case

The Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) has come to the rescue of Marine Lt. Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino in the drug case against him before a Manila regional trial court (RTC).

The ISAFP has issued a certification signed by its chief, Brig. Gen. Ronald Villanueva, saying Marcelino was indeed conducting counter- intelligence operations when he and asset Yan Yi Shou alias Randy were arrested inside a shabu laboratory in Sta. Cruz, Manila in January last year.

The certification was what the Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier sought from Marcelino for the dismissal of the charges against him, but which he has failed to produce.

Villanueva said Marcelino was commander of their military intelligence group 4 who continued his operations against illegal drugs even after his transfer to other units of the AFP.

The ISAFP chief, in the certification issued last Jan. 19, also batted for the integrity of Marcelino and stressed that he “has never been involved in any illegal activities particularly about illegal drugs.”

The certificate was submitted to Manila RTC Branch 49, which is hearing the possession of illegal drugs against Marcelino and Yan, by the Public Attorney’s Office.

Apart from the ISAFP certification, the RTC also received a letter from retired AFP general and former Bureau of Customs deputy commissioner Jessie Dellosa attesting to Marcelino’s role in intelligence operations against drug syndicates.

The STAR earlier reported that Marcelino called then ISAFP chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año during his arrest and asked for a mission order to justify his presence in the shabu laboratory. But Año, who is now AFP chief, did not help him.

Despite the certification, the DOJ prosecution panel headed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera said the certification did not say categorically whether Marcelino is authorized to conduct surveillance operations on the particular apartment where he and his companion were arrested.