Anti-narcotics cops dismayed over release of Marcelino, Yan

Anti-narcotics agents of the Philippine National Police (PNP) consider it as a big setback to the war on illegal drugs that Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino – arrested and linked to a big-time drug trafficking operation last year – has been released and the charges against him junked.

Superintendent Enrico Rigor, PNP-Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) spokesman, said they are dismayed by the decision of a Manila court which junked the case against Marcelino and Yan Yi Shou, who were both arrested in a raid on a suspected “shabu” warehouse in Sta. Cruz, Manila, on Jan. 21, 2016.

A total of 77 kilos of suspected shabu were seized in that operation, Rigor recalled.

“All the defenses by Colonel Marcelino was taken as a gospel truth by the ruling (of the court),” he said.

Rigor insisted that there was a misapprehension of the facts before the court as he argued that the presence of both Marcelino and Yan inside the warehouse is itself a smoking gun against them.

He said the DEG is most surprised by the recent resolution of the Department of Justice (DOJ) reversing the resolution on Sept. 15, 2016 of Assistant State Prosecutor Alexander Q. Suarez, as approved by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony D. Fadullon, concluding that Marcelino and Yan have sufficiently proven that they were in performance of a lawful duty when they were chanced upon by police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives during the raid.

“We are wary, we were really surprised,” said Rigor when asked about the morale of the DEG.

He said this incident lays a dangerous precedent on drug operations being conducted by law enforcement agencies.

“The PNP-DEG as well as PDEA will exert all legal efforts seeking reversal of the said resolution,” Rigor said.

“But our life must not end there, we will strive harder in order to overcome any setback that we would encounter,” he added.