Marcelino as drug lord ‘out of character’

It was out of character for Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino to turn into a drug lord after going after drug dealers and spurning millions of pesos in bribe money when he was with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, a former superior officer and a classmate in the Philippine Military Academy said on Friday.

Retired General Dionisio Santiago, a former director of the PDEA and former Armed Forces Chief of Staff, said Marcelino was not interested in the windfall one may gain quite easily through the illegal drug trade.

"Hindi siya traditional operator eh. Pero hindi siya mukhang pera. He will not risk his reputation and name for money," Santiago said.

"[He was] directly under me, and alam ko ang mentality niyan. Maraming situation na na-prove na hindi siya naa-akit sa pera during my time," he added.

Santiago, nonetheless, said he could no longer vouch for Marcelino the way he could when they were still working together at the PDEA.

"I cannot judge him anymore. Ang sinasabi ko is based on the knowledge of the characteristic of the person. 'Di ko sinasabing clean siya. Sabi ko nga, anong malay ko? Baka may kalokohan rin siya," Santiago.

But one of Marcelino's classmates in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1994 said that the former head of the PDEA Special Enforcement Service (PDEA-SES) suffered financially from his dedication.

"Imposible na siyang magiging drug lord dahil hirap nga yung pamilya niya eh. In fact, last year, naghihingi siya ng ano, nagkasakit yung tatay niya," said the classmate, an Army officer who didn't want to be named in this article because he is still in active service.

"Naghahanap siya kung sinong pwedeng makatulong sa kanya. Economically, i-check nila. Walang-wala yung mama. Yet in his hands were billions of pesos. Ano ba naman yung kukuha siya ng sampung kilo ng shabu at ibenta?" he added.

Efficient and unbribable

Marcelino's classmate cited the agent's refusal to accept a P5 million bribe offered by a group of suspected drug dealers in a controversial case less than ten years back.

The classmate said a government official was bribed but Marcelino didn't want any part of clearing the suspects of the drug charges.

"Ayaw magpabayad nung classmate ko so nagkaroon ng spat dun sa media," he claimed.

The Army officer was referring to the case of Joseph Tecson, Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph known as the "Alabang Boys."

Marcelino's group arrested the three in an operation in September 2008.

Santiago and Marcelino even received death threats at the height of the controversy.

After the dismissal of the Alabang Boys' case, Marcelino revealed that Department of Justice officials received P50 million.

The National Bureau of Investigation, however, said it could not find any evidence that would prove Marcelino's claim.

Santiago said Marcelino would at times disappear to pursue leads regarding a drug syndicate only to present himself after a period of time with enough information to merit a drug raid.

"Minsan, nagmumura ako, 'Nasan ba ba 'tong tao na 'to, me itatanong ako'. Pagbalik niyan, susurface na lang, dala niyan solid information, for filing of search warrant na lang," Santiago said.

"That's how he operates, he's unique, he's one of a kind," he added.

Agent burned

Randy or Yan Yi Shou, the Chinese national arrested along with Marcelino in the raid, was an interpreter of the PDEA during Marcelino's time as the SES head.

Marcelino's classmate said the arrest burned Randy's cover with the syndicate and has endangered his life.

"Nasunog yung agent, yung action agent, yung nagti-tip. Paano natin malalaman kung nasan pa yung ibang ano. Yung Chinese interpreter na ngayon, of no use na siya kasi alam na ng sindikato na yun yung tipster," the officer said.

"Dalawa lang mapupuntahan niyan: yung patayin siya. Kung hindi man siya patayin, wala siyang silbi na," he added.

Santiago, who learned of Randy's connections to the government through news reports, said the Chinese's ties with the government and Marcelino must be verified to uncover whether they are involved in the case.

"Sabi nga verifiable, then you verify. Sabi ko, verifiable na nasa payroll ng PDEA yung Randy na hinuli. As to who controls Randy now, I do not know. 'Yan ang tanong," Santiago said.

"Ang sabi ko, Marcelino, after me, works sa PAO. Then mave-verify niyo ano yung hinuli ng PAO when Marcelino was written, then makukuha niyo ang involvement ni Marcelino doon," he added.

"Maybe he'll be honest enough to really pin Marcelino as among those responsible sa pag-bust dun sa mga major syndicates," Santiago said.

Skeptical of innocence

Despite his favorable impression of Marcelino, Santiago conceded that time spent away from the government eroded his ability to judge the ex-PDEA agent's character and could declare him innocent of guilt.

"Hindi ko pwedeng sabihing wala siyang kasalanan. Kung nung maghiwalay kami, naging PU na siya, sinasabi ko nung magkakilala kami, and that was five years ago," Santiago said.

Marcelino's classmate maintained that investigators should check on Marcelino's alibi as the former SES head allegedly checked in with PDEA before proceeding to the warehouse.

"Tumawag siya doon sa PDEA, tinanong kung may operation ba kayo dito banda kasi may pupuntahan ako. Sabi naman wala, so pumunta siya. 'Yun pala, yung pinagtanungan niya hindi alam na may agent rin yung PDEA, naghihintay lang sila kung sinong nagpapasok dun sa laboratory," the officer said.

"[They] were surprised nung may pumasok, di pinasok na nila. They were surprised na nakita siya... They could have counter-checked yung statement niya na tumawag siya doon kung may expeditions yung PDEA doon," he added.

However, the Army officer admitted that Marcelino may not have documents to prove that he was officially assigned to the case.

"Nope, I believe it was all out of personal conviction and advocacy. He was acting on information he just was given," the officer said.

Both Santiago and Marcelino's classmate said an investigation into Marcelino's role in the Sta. Cruz, Manila raid was required and would ultimately prove Marcelino's innocence or guilt.

"Hindi siya dapat nage-explain. Let his lawyers do it," Santiago said. -NB/ALG, GMA News