Aguirre: No deal with Marcelino
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has assured that the dismissal of the drug possession case against Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino was not done in exchange for the latter’s testimony against detained Senator Leila de Lima.
Aguirre reacted to accusations made by De Lima herself who alleged Marcelino made the deal with the Duterte administration in order to pin her down in the drug charges against her.
“There is no such deal. She is imagining things,” said the secretary in a statement.
Aguirre suspects De Lima is getting scared of the truth revealing itself with regard to the proliferation of the narcotics trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
“Her conscience is just bothering her,” he stated.
Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Chief Persida Acosta, whose office represented Marcelino in his drug cases, also assured no deal was made with him.
“There’s no deal,” said Acosta and reacted to De Lima’s statement, saying: “Does she (De Lima) expect Marcelino to have knowledge about her?”
Acosta reminded Marcelino had previously prepared a sworn affidavit when he was supposed to testify last year before the House of Representatives justice committee which was conducting an inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs at the NBP but he was not allowed to testify.
In an affidavit he made, Marcelino recounted being visited by then Justice Secretary de Lima at the Custodial Center of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame when he was still detained to discuss a raid of a shabu laboratory in Camiling, Tarlac which was discovered through his counter-intelligence operation.
“We discussed operation in the clandestine laboratory in Tarlac and the possible infiltration of the drug syndicate in the political leadership of which she said to me, ‘I can assure you the President is not involved,” read his affidavit.
“I was stunned when she mentioned the president, when I did not even state his name nor even allude to him at that time,” he added.
“Why is the largest clandestine shabu laboratory established right in the home province of then President Benigno Aquino III, which is also the province where the then PDEA director general Arturo Cacdac once served as provincial director of PNP?” asked Marcelino.