Skip to content

Category: Vera Files

The Marine who said “No”

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

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.

Continue readingThe Marine who said “No”

Interagency feud weakens anti-drug campaign

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By VERA Files

(Conclusion)

Last Jan. 13, President Arroyo proclaimed herself the country’s anti-drug czar, stepping into the feud between the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Justice over the “Alabang Boys,” the three young men arrested and detained for illegal drug pushing and who allegedly tried to bribe their way to freedom.

Except for ordering DOJ officials and prosecutors to go on leave, Arroyo has kept mum on the charges of bribery, inefficiency and conflicts of interest that were exchanged between prosecutors and antinarcotics officials and agents. Her move has resulted in an uneasy peace between warring agencies that are supposed to work closely together in the anti-drug effort.

“The anti-drug campaign requires a united front, a harmonious relationship with other agencies,” a senior police official said. But he lamented that the attacks on both the PDEA and DOJ have “destroyed institution(s), including those who are innocent.”

Law enforcers say there has been a long running feud, with antinarcotics agents frustrated at the frequency with which prosecutors drop charges against suspects, and prosecutors complaining that law enforcers fail to build cases strong enough to stand up in court. Judges have also been accused of acquitting known drug lords.

Continue readingInteragency feud weakens anti-drug campaign

As “shabu” price rises, Ecstasy use up

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By VERA Files

(First of two parts)

The trade in crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” in the Philippines has grown into a P1 billion-a-day industry, but the drug has now become more expensive, making it “the poor man’s cocaine no more,” antinarcotics officials and international drug reports said.

The price of shabu has doubled to between P8,000 and P10,000 per gram since law enforcers dismantled several “mega-laboratories” in 2006 and 2007.

But government successes in curbing shabu production have been offset by another problem: Users are now turning to the amphetamine-type stimulant Ecstasy, which sells for P750 to P800 per tablet, and cocaine, which sells for P2,500 per gram, the kinds of drugs that were seized from “Alabang Boys” Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Ramirez Tecson by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in a drug-bust operation last September.

Continue readingAs “shabu” price rises, Ecstasy use up