Marcelino moved to Camp Crame

Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino and his co-accused, Chinese national Yan Yi Shou, were transferred yesterday afternoon from the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa to the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame.

Marcelino and Yan left Camp Bagong Diwa at past noon yesterday to go to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, which later ordered Marcelino and Yan’s transfer, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology ( BJMP) spokesman Senior Inspector Xavier Solda said.

“The court issued its order of commitment after the hearing. They did not return to Camp Bagong Diwa. They were taken to Camp Crame,” Solda said.

Marcelino, a former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency official, and Yan were arrested during a raid on an apartment that housed a clandestine shabu laboratory in Sta. Cruz, Manila on Jan. 21. They were initially detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City following their arrest.

Authorities recovered 64 kilos of shabu worth P256 million during the sting. Authorities said Marcelino was found sitting on a couch in the apartment when the police arrived.

Marcelino and Yan were later transferred to the jail annex, where Marcelino shared a cell with a Maguindanao massacre suspect.

Solda said since Marcelino and Yan are now detained at Camp Crame, it would be police officers who would be escorting them to court hearings.

The Philippine National Police AntiIllegal Drugs Group (PNP-AIDG) had earlier opposed a proposal of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to transfer Marcelino to another detention facility while undergoing preliminary investigation on drug charges.

PNP- AIDG chief Senior Superintendent Manolo Ozaeta opposed the recommendation of Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva to the BJMP to transfer Marcelino to the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation or the Philippine Navy.

The DOJ earlier aired its concern for Marcelino’s safety at the jail annex, where drug suspects arrested by the Marine officer were also being held.