This article was first published on January 18, 2009. We are re-posting this as Lt. Col Ferdinand Marcelino is again in the news after he was arrested in a drug bust operation last Jan. 21. Marcelino says his presence in the shabu den was a legal operation. His lawyer said it was a “frameup”
By Ellen Tordesillas, VERA Files
THE soldier who stirred a hornet’s nest by accusing Department of Justice officials of bribery in the so-called “Alabang Boys” case could have been a millionaire by now.
Marine Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, chief of the Special Enforcement Service of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, has experienced being bribed by smugglers, politicians and drug dealers in his 14-year career as a military officer.
But Marcelino, who belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1994, said he has made it a point to give back the thick envelopes stuffed with cash, and was not even curious enough to count the money and see how much he is worth.
The 11th of 13 children of a poor family in Bulacan, Marcelino made it through school only through scholarships, and by working as a campus journalist and a reporter for the tabloid Headline Manila in the late 1980s. He entered the PMA because that was the only way he could get a free college education.
But he said he has never thought of taking money that could have compensated for the risks he has taken.
As a young lieutenant assigned in Pangutaran, Sulu in 1996, he experienced being given money representing the “share of the Marines” for them to turn a blind eye to the smuggling of goods, including noodles, from Malaysia rampant on the island. The envelope containing the money was first handed to him by the police chief and later by a town councilor. He turned down the bribe.
In 1998, Marcelino and his fellow soldiers were assigned to Panamao town in Sulu to make sure elections took place. That meant he had to go up against the mayor who wanted elections confined to his strongholds in the town center, and offered him money and cattle not to deliver ballot boxes in the outlying barangay.
He refused both cattle and money, angering the mayor who not only got his private army fire mortars at Marcelino’s detachment, but offered P800,000 and an M-14 rifle to anyone who would kill the young Marine officer. A child was killed instantly and 11 others were injured when the nearby health center was hit by mortar fire.
Whenever confronted with bribe offers, Marcelino said he always remembers his father’s advice, “Kung ano ang pinakain mo sa anak mo, ganoon din ang kalalakihan niya (You are what you eat).”
He also keeps in mind the PMA honor code that a cadet “does not lie, cheat and steal and tolerate those who do.”
The “Alabang Boys” controversy has thrust Marcelino in the limelight after he disclosed that state prosecutors were offered a P50 million bribe to drop the charges against Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Tecson who were caught last September by PDEA operatives with a spread of Ecstasy and other drugs. He also reported that he was offered a P3 million bribe, which later went up to P20 million, to settle the case.
At work, Marcelino said he is oblivious to the overwhelming public support for him in the conflict with the DOJ. But he has felt that his “world has become smaller.”
He related an incident in a San Juan restaurant a week ago when an old man he did not know seated at another table paid for their bill. When he thanked him for it, the old man said, “This is just my way of thanking you for what you are doing for the country.”
“Kinilabutan ako (It gave me goose bumps),” he said.
While Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez mulls how to teach the young military officer who dared talk back to him in a televised congressional hearing a lesson, Marcelino said he will continue doing what he believes is right, guided by the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look into current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”)
Yes, I remember and still believe in him.
My first reaction upon watching the news was, “Akala ko matino, bumigay rin pala.” But as the days went by, I also saw how one supposedly making hundreds of millions in drugs still lived a simple life, at one time helplessly denying any financial help for his sister suffering from cancer which cost her life. That’s when I realized and hoped he still has the same values we know him for.
If what he claims – that he was in the area of the meth lab for surveillance – is true, then surely the real drug lord must be feeling the heat from Marcelino he had to mobilize his contacts in the PNP for the setup.
Tongue, have you read this?
http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/v1/01/25/16/frame-up-lawyer-bares-details-of-marcelinos-arrest
Marcelino was assigned as superintendent at the Navy Officer Candidate School in Zambales. Did he have a mission order to go to the shabu warehouse in Sta Cruz Manila?
tongue, nabigla ako not because of doubt, but due to my instant thought of na-frame up si Col. Marcelino…
Dapat lumabas ang katotohanan, hindi itong tao na ito ang bibigay.
Yup, Ellen. I browsed through Inquirer and read a similar story. Sayang, wala na ako sa Pasay sigurado meron pa akong insider stories dito. Nabasa ko nga na Marcelino was even assisting De Lima dun sa raid sa Bilibid. And that his daughter was kidnapped by a drug lord.
mb,
Marcelino tipped the PDEA of the shabu lab but Cacdac never gave the order to search even if they already had the warrant. They only moved when they probably have been informed that Marcelino has beaten them to the bust. So they scrambled some cops for the quick search kuno. At the perfect time that Marcelino was present. Something fishy ha, Cacdac?
Hey, his superiors have just confirmed his mission at the time of the raid. So talagang dapat nga siyang magduda sa PDEA ngayon. Natutulog sa pansitan talaga ang PDEA. Halos araw-araw ang raid ng mga shabu labs/dens, pushers. Puro big-time ang buy-bust. Kilala ko pa yung isang Intsik na supplier ng mga makina. Nagii-smuggle din pala ng shabu sa loob ng makina.
Natakot ang DILG/PNP sa panggi-gigil ni Duterte sa drug lords kaya lang sila kumilos.
#2. TT, kahit ako, ganu’n din ang naibulong sa sarili ko nu’ng mapanood sa TV Patrol ang pagkakahuli sa kanya sa loob ng shabu lab at banggitin ang kanyang pangalan. pero sa nabasa kong article na nagsasabing mareremata ang kanyang hinuhulugang bahay dahil hindi nakakabayad ng mortgage ay unti unting nawawala ang alinlangan ko sa kanyang integrity. ganu’n din nang banggitin ng kanyang kapatid at nanay ang tungkol sa pagkakaospital ng kapatid lalaking nangailanangan ng malaking halaga ay hindi naging dahilan upang tumanggap siya ng suhol sa bawat drug operations na kanyang pinamunuan at napagtagumpayan.
mabibilang sa daliri ang katulad niyang BUO at HINDI natitinag ang prinsipyo at paninindigan at maliwanag na merong demolition job upang mawala siya sa landas ng mga protector ng mga drug lords.
Hindi lang sa pera bumibigay ang mga autoridad. Isipin mong isa kang pulis, kasama ka sa anti-narcotics force, may lumapit sa iyo, abot isang envelope, sabi, “isang milyon yan, tumahimik ka na, kung ayaw mo isa-isahin namin ang iyong pamilya”. Hindi lang sa sine nangyayari yan. Hindi ba ninyo nababasa yung kaso ng mga pinipira-pirasong katawan ng mga anak at asawa ng mga anti-narcotics agents? Ewan kung saan ka dadalhin ng iyong prinsipyo kung ang kaligtasan na nang iyong pamilya ang nakataya.
Sa panahon ni Marcos ay hindi laganap ang droga. Dahil si Marcos ay matapang, biruin niyo firing squad ang isang intsik na drug lord at iyon ang dahilan takot ang mga drug lord na mag operate sa Pilipinas. Pero ngayon ay laganap na ang droga dahil wala na si Marcos na kinatatakutan nila. Sa pag laganap ng droga sa Pilipinas walang ibang dapat sisihin kundi ang mga taong nagpatalsik kay Marcos. Walang iba, sila talaga.
Ang tao ay nagtratrabaho para magkapera. Sa droga ay may pera, malaki ang kita kaysa pagtrabaho sa gobyerno o private. Sadyang may mga tao na hangad na kumita ng malaking halaga. Hindi natin masisisi ang mga tao na sa droga kumikita ng pera. Dahil sila ay may pinapakain din, kailangan din nila ng pera, unawaan lang. Pero kapag madakip dapat managot sa batas. Ang paggamit ng shabu ay hindi masama basta wala kang sinasaktan.
http://arvin95.blogspot.com/2009/06/shabu.html
#6. TonGuE-tWisTeD
All I’m saying is without a mission order, Marcelino had no business being there.
I saw Marcelino’s lawyer on Karen Davila’s show and I came away with the impression that his defense rests on first making suspicious what could have been an unlucky coincidence for Marcelino and then making a leap to asking who you going to believe, Marcelino or Cacdac?
A mission order would have would have justified Marcelino’s presence at the location because it would have specified what his orders were with regards to that shabu lab/storage space.
Lacking a mission order, Marcelino’s only defense is good intention and his good reputation.
Some questions came to mind after I heard his lawyer:
(1) Did Marcelino go there to see for himself what the tipster told him?
(2) What precautions did Marcelino take just in case he and the tipster ran into trouble at the place?
(3) If there were guards inside the house, was Marcelino prepared to make an arrest?
(4) As to tipping the pdea. Marcelino did not. He asked them a general question – did pdea have an ongoing operation – and left it at that. He did not tell pdea he was on to something; he did not make an effort to coordinate with them.
(4) Could there have been an ongoing top secret operation directed at that location and Marcelino was not told about it because he was not with pdea anymore?
I hope Marcelino can produce a mission order. In the meantime I will wait for the pdea and Marcelino to present their cases because at this time all we have is pdea’s word against Marcelino and vice-versa.
It’s the Law of Supply and Demand really. See, there will always be those who will buy at any price and there will always be those who are willing to take the risk to provide the buyer because, heck, it pays so well. Prohibition increases the risk alright but so it does with profit margins by several thousandfold. Business thus attracts the criminal types, those who love defying the law for handsome profits.
Arvin @ 10…Sometimes legalizing and illegal substance will minimize its side effects. In just a matter of few months or could longer perhaps, recreational use of Marijuana will be legalized and it just a matter of its distribution that is being discussed that will be not accessible to minors..The ministry of health and justice are both very busy crafting rules of its..meantime the advocates for its legal use is urging the Govt. to call for MORATORIUM on Arrest for possession of marijuana for recreational use.
now and if when the substance is legalized, the COPs can utilized its resources to go after the more dangerous drugs such as Ecstasy and heroine and cocaine…Medicinal Marijuana been legal for a while now.
MB, If you ask a PDEA officer if they are operating in a certain condo being used as a shabu lab, THAT is the tip! A search/arrest warrant’s operational life is only ten days. Or else it is returned to the issuing judge. I’m thinking Marcelino already knows that a warrant has been issued and is probably wondering why the PDEA has not been moving to pursue it. Also his PDEA contact is not aware of any operation in the said lab. That may have made him more curious. Remember heads rolled in the BJMP because of his info on the shabu lab inside the penitentiary. Marcelino has been giving PDEA massive blackeyes. That drug lab inside the jail is a slap on the face of Cacdac, too.
TonGuE-tWisTeD,
Yes. But where is Marcelino’s mission order?
Just because the firemen are present in all fires does not mean they are the arsonists. Just because the paramedics are present in the case of stabbing incidents does not mean that they stabbed the victims. Mere presence does not prove anything. You have to prove the men rea – the criminal intent.
True, there are crimes that are proven by mere possession. But the facts do not prove that here. There is no probable cause. The prosecutor should dismiss this case.
Let us go to particulars.
The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (RA 9165) found below:
http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2002/ra_9165_2002.html
enumerates what are the unlawful acts. So what are they?
Section 4, Importation – not applicable here
Section 5 – Sale, Trading, Administration, Dispensation, Delivery, Distribution and Transportation of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals – Not applicable here.
Section 6 – Maintenance of a den – Not applicable here
Section 7 – Employees of a den – Nyet. Dili uy.
Section 8 – Manufacture of dangerous drugs. Possible. We will go back to this.
Section 9 –Illegal Chemical diversion – Hindi. Saan ngarud.
Section 10 – Manufacture or delivery of equipment. No. The place allegedly manufactures drugs, not equipment to make drugs. So, back to Section 8, mamaya.
Section 11 – Possession of drugs. Possible. So we go back to this in detail.
So, we have eliminated the sections, except Section 8 and 11.
Section 8 prohibits manufacturing, which in the definitions Section 3 (u) states:
One has to prove that Marcelino oversaw the manufacture, or ordered the manufacture of the seized drugs. Tila mahirap yan. You need workers to testify that they were ordered by Marcelino. Eh wala kang naarestong workers, so sino ang tetestigo?
So let us go to the slam dunk provision. Possession.
sax – But the drugs were not caught on his person. He just happened to be in a place that had drugs. He states that he was raiding.
Prosecutor – Pare naman. The drugs don’t have to be on your person. What if the drugs were found in your home or office? The presumption is, sa iyo yon.
sax – Bakit, bahay o oficina ba ni Marcelino yon. Does he have a lease on the premises?
Prosecutor – Pare naman. The lease could have been taken by dummies.
sax – Tumpak. Then present the dummies to testify that they hold the premises for Marcelino. But the defense can interview the neighbors, who will testify that they never saw Marcelino there. Mayroon bang drug lord that would not control his operations. Paano kung skimming na ang mga kawal?
Prosecutor – What about the 2.2 million pesos?
Sax – Naniwala ka diyan? Ang cheap naman. Drug lord? 2.2 million lang? Drug lord na yan ha. Di ba’t suhol lang sa kanya 20 million na? Tinga lang yan sa mga drug lord sa Bilibid. Hindi pera ng drug lord or manufacturer yan. Pera yan ng street pusher.
Besides, circumstantial yan. It could have come from a loan, or pabuya ng niligtas niya. Manipis naman man. Wala ka bang mas matibay-tibay?
Prosecutor – Caught in the act nga eh.
sax – Caught in the act of what? Caught in the act of manufacturing? Eh finished product na nga eh.
Prosecutor – Caught in the act of possession.
sax – Possession by being in the presence of drugs? So kapag nasa kalye ako, at may nagtitinda sa tabi ko, caught in the act of possession na ako? Manipis man.
Prosecutor – But probable cause requires minimal evidence.
sax – Maaari nga. But if you cannot deliver the goods, by way of credible evidence at the trial, he walks. Then when you actually get the evidence, may double jeopardy na. Kung talagang drug lord yan, you should have waited for him to transport the drugs. Then you would have had a solid case of possession. Presumably, iaabot yan sa pagbebentahan. Cacdac should have waited.
Or baka naman susunugin o sisirain na ni Marcelino, so the friendly (to the drug lords) cops moved in to protect the merchandise.
Prosecutor – Oy conjecture na yan.
sax – Just like yours. Just because nandoon kung saan may drugs, siya na ang may-ari. That will only fly if he owns the lease to the premises, himself, or by way of a dummy.
Prosecutor – Eh walang mission order eh.
sax – So what? Kung walang mission order? That may present an administrative liability – insubordination or something. But the lack of a mission order does not prove mens rea – the criminal intent to possess or manufacture drugs.
Si Purisima wala ding mission order sa Mamasapano from the Mama sa Panot. In fact, suspended na siya. But he participated out of his sense of duty. Bwahahaha. Ang baduy naman. (Hoy background music naman diyan. Nasaan ang mga violins?).
Assigned to the Navy School in Zambales. Nagtuturo ng mga estudyante.
This is the classic, Ilayo ang istorbo, para tuloy ang ligaya.
Para mong binagko si Michael Jordan, at na-assign si Jordan na mag-train ng mga aplicante.
So which piece of fecal matter ordered this?
From what I heard, Marcelino was I agree 100% with #20.
From what I heard, Marcelino was framed…..I agree 100% with #20.
Hmm, a colonel in the Marines, a one man crusader entering the dragons lair, no back up, not packed, armed only with deposit slips, a well known man especially to the underworld.
Was he making a statement? Whether it was an official mission or not, his credibility is damaged.
Walang mission order
May mga drug lord na gusto ang mabilanggo kasi sa bilangguan ay naipagpapatuloy pa rin naman ang gawain nila at dahil bilanggo na sila ay hindi na sila kailangan pang hulihin. Sa loob ng bilangguan ay nagagawa rin naman nila ang hilig nila katulad ng pagkuha ng mga magagandang bayaran na babae, pag cellphone, mag tv o anu pa. Hindi katulad na nasa labas at gumagawa ng illegal ay may takot pa na mahuli pero pag sa loob ng bilangguan wala ng takot na mahuli at magagawa pa na makapag operate ng patungkol sa drugs.
Let us stop speculating if he or he is not. With that amount of Millions, nobody is above temptation. Perhaps that is also the same temptation that land Ms Macapagal Arroyo in detention. And hundreds of Politicians being alleged to have been Millionaires without the “known” legal source of income.
Give it a decade or at best 5 years to hear the evidence in a public trial if ever it will come to court and then discuss if the Col was framed up or he was just doing what most would do for a better life while he can. And by Goddamn don’t act or pretend to be Surprised.
lahat tayo ay walang karapatang husgahan si judge colonel marcelino. maaari tayong maghinala, magduda subalit SIYA lamang na may katawan ang nakakaalam kung ano ang TUNAY na totoo sa mga pangyayari.
madaling gumawa at magtanim ng ebidensiya subalit ang lahat ng katotohanan ay lalabas at lalabas upang ituro kung sino ang tunay na may bahid dungis sa mga kamay at pagkatao.
Regarding the arrest, the news have it that Marcelino got the keys to the condo from the guards. Probably after much convincing and upon introducing himself as a man in authority. What do guards do after handing him the keys? They call the registered owner or contact person. Who in turn called Cacdac. Or maybe, Cacdac was the contact person himself, or maybe the condo owner. Who knows?
The crusader, well… lone ranger in the caliber of Marcelino, or anyone in the intel community for that matter, works with utmost confidentiality, does not work with a mission order. These paperwork are not for intel work. Even superiors are often kept in the dark only until it becomes necessary. You do not announce to the whole office, “Hey I’m closing in on a drug lab in this and that place” and expect everyone there including the boss is real squeaky clean and will not pass the info to the syndicate capo.
Sabi nga ni Gen. Napeñas, “the gov’t forces there are already compromised so we adapted the time-on-target mode of coordination and only provide info on a need-to-know basis”. Ganyan din ito.
So far, the PNP-AIDG is contemplating filing charges on violation of the COMELEC gun ban which to me is, umm, bleh.
If they want to silence him permanently, they should have killed him right away and blamed it on a misencounter.
They should be investigating instead the condo guards and admin as to the real owners of the condo and let’s see who they would be connected to. Marcelino or Cacdac? But it looks that the intent is to nail Marcelino through his bank transactions. Of course they know they will find some big transactions. Informers’ reward money, buy-bust show money, intel funds. and other official transactions not even subject to COA audit but they want to AMLC and themselves to scrutinize it? It’s not allowed. No case there. Period.
Yes. Para sa mga sundalo lang ang MO, hindi sa opisyal. Thats why i didnt call it a mission order. He must have a very good reason to be there. He is already the head of NETC(?), a star rank position.
how can you believe a man who said that the alabang boys were arrested because they were drug pusher and afterwards the DOJ dismissed the case against the “Alabang boys” supposedly for lack of probable cause.This guy is a pathological liar or a victim of too much self indulgence. http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/01/22/1545060/marcelino-man-who-captured-alabang-boys. sino bang maniniwala sa kanya e palpak nga iyong kaso niya laban sa alabang boys! puro naman haka haka ang mga sinasabi niya at wala namang katotohanan kaya nga dismissed sa DOJ. iyan ang mahirap kasi pag nabasa na ang papel ng isang tao kahit ano pang sabihin at paliwanag ang gawin mo wala ng maniniwala saiyo.
iyong abogado niya na si dennis manalo ay nakakaduda pa iyan.kung mahirap nga si lt. col. marcelino bakit pa siya kukuha ng mamahaling abogado? sino naman kaya ang magbabayad kay manalo? millions ang attorney’s, service at appearance fees niyan!
jose nori domino.
Baka nakalimutan mo na yung masalimuot na istorya, eto, basahin mo muna ito.
http://cmfr-phil.org/media-ethics-responsibility/ethics/the-alabang-boys-controversy-who-bribed-whom/
Iyan ba ang totoong istorya sa palagay mo? Kung totoo iyang nakasulat sa dyaryo sana ginawang ibedensiya sa korte para mapanagot ang may kasalanan di ba? Journal iyon hindi solid facts kaya di pinaniwalaan! Ikaw na ang magbasa uli ng article para maintindihan mo ang rules of court at jurisprudence.
Ay akala niya sulot na siya http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/09/22/Ex-PDEA-Marcelino-DOJ-drug-charge.html