‘Año turned down Marcelino plea for help’
When Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino was arrested by anti-narcotics agents in a shabu laboratory in Sta. Cruz, Manila on Jan. 21 last year, he immediately phoned a superior in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for help.
Probers of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ( PDEA) and Philippine National Police Anti- Illegal Drug Group ( PNP- AIDG) found that at around 1: 30 a. m., Marcelino called the AFP official with code name “Perseus” to ask for a mission order to justify his presence in the townhouse where nearly 77 kilos of shabu, with a street value of P380 million, were seized.
After checking the phone number of Perseus, it was found that the same number was owned by then Intelligence Service of AFP (ISAFP) chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año, who is now AFP chief of staff.
Also yesterday, Judge Daniel Villanueva of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 49 ordered the transfer of Marcelino and informant Yan Yi Shou, a PDEA informant who was arrested along with Marcelino, to the city jail.
Earlier this week, Marcelino surrendered to the AFP Provost Marshal and Yan to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“Yan is being transferred to the Manila City Jail in compliance with the order stated in the warrant of arrest issued against him and Marcelino for them to be committed to the said jail facility,” said Moises Tamayo, who heads the NBI’s Special Task Force.
Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa yesterday welcomed Marcelino’s surrender, but said the “military should submit him to the custody of the court that issued the warrant of arrest.”
However, he also said he sees no problem if Marcelino is in AFP custody.
“Whether it’s the military, police or the court, there is no problem as long as he is under custody and available to face the charges against him,” Dela Rosa said.
Recorded conversation
The probers cited the phone conversation between Marcelino and the AFP official that was recorded in Marcelino’s confiscated mobile phone, which was submitted to the court as evidence in the drug charges against him and Yan.
In the conversation – a copy of the transcript of stenographic notes was obtained by The STAR from a source privy to the investigation of the case – Marcelino informed his superior of his ordeal and that he was being arrested by PDEA and PNP-AIDG men after then AFP chief of staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri informed them that his supposed intelligence operation had no authority.
Marcelino admitted that he did not have the written mission order or authority to conduct his supposed intelligence operation.
Marcelino told Perseus he assumed that the “special project” had the go signal from the AFP leadership as allegedly relayed to him by Iriberri’s aide, identified only as “Joel.”
Perseus told Marcelino that a written order from the head of his designated unit is necessary for such an operation.
On his own
Marcelino is designated as a commandant at the Philippine Navy.
The former PDEA official, who was key to major antinarcotics accomplishments in previous administrations, begged Perseus to call Iriberri and inform PDEA chief Arturo Cacdac about his supposed intelligence operation.
But the AFP official suggested to Marcelino to instead ask for help from Joel because he could not issue the authority since the arrested Marine officer was not under his command.
“Wala naman akong authority kase hindi ko naman hawak
yan. What I can only do for you is only kung ano pagkakakilala ko
sa iyo (I don’t have authority because that’s not under me. What I can only do for you is to bat for your reputation),” Perseus told Marcelino.
“Ang kailangan mo ay (What you need is) authority from chief of staff. I will just try my best effort. But as far as authority, wala akong (I don’t have) authority,” he stressed.
At the end of the conversation, the AFP official said he was not aware of the operation and that given the circumstances, it appeared that Marcelino was on his own.
“Kasi parang nag operate ka
ng solo dyan eh. Tawagan mo si Joel ( It seems that you’re operating on your own there. Just call Joel),” Perseus suggested.
During preliminary investigation in the Department of Justice, prosecutors asked Marcelino for his mission order.
But what Marcelino submitted was a certificate from the Philippine Army Intelligence and Security Group dated Jan. 22, 2016 showing Marcelino was tapped for intelligence sharing in November and December last year for an operation against Army personnel suspected to be involved in the illegal drugs trade in the country. It was signed by then ISG commander Col. Marlo Guloy.
Marcelino and Yan were then indicted for possession of illegal drugs.