Marcelino, Chinese companion ask Manila court to dismiss drug case

Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino and his Chinese companion asked a Manila court on Friday to dismiss the drug possession case filed against them by the Department of Justice.

Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, kasama si PAO Chief Percida Acosta, naghain na ng mosyon sa Manila RTC. | via @CecilVillarosa pic.twitter.com/y6LUIP3bWW

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 23, 2016

Filing on behalf of Marcelino and Chinese national Yan Yi Shou, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) told the Manila Regional Trial Court branch 17 that there was no probable cause to proceed with their trial for possession of dangerous drugs.

The PAO also asked for suspension of issuance of arrest warrant and deferment of arraignment pending the resolution of the motion.

"Surely, proceeding with the arraignment would have dire consequences upon them who will again be deprived of their liberty despite the weakness of the evidence against them; for the denial of their constitutional right stands to be thrown into thin air," the motion stated. 

"Arraignment should be deferred, lest they would be deemed as having waived their right to question the illegality of their arrest," the motion added.

Marcelino and Yan, alias Randy, tried to extricate themselves from liability by claiming that they were in a house in Sta. Cruz, Manila on January 21 only to verify if it was indeed a clandestine shabu laboratory.

Both men said they intended to inform the authorities if their suspicions could be justified.

Marcelino and Yan aslo asserted that they were only fufilling their lawful duties at the time of their arrest, when anti-narcotics agents seized nearly 77 kilograms of shabu.

"It bears to note that Lt. Marcelino and his asset could not have animus possidendi (intention to possess) with regars to the illicit drugs supposedly recovered. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," the motion read.

"Lt. Col. Marcelino's presence thereat was merely to verify the raw information he obtained from Randy. They were then in the actual performance of duty," it added.

The PAO argued that the arrests were illegal because it was not established that Marcelino and Yan have exercised control over the premises where the illicit drugs were found.

The chain of custody of seized drugs was also not "properly preserved and safeguarded," PAO added.

It was also not in Marcelino's character to engage in illegal drugs as he was a known intelligence operative, according to the PAO.

"Lt. Col. Marcelino's commendable work of running aftee drug lords and shutting down drug laboratories have taken a huge toll and caused insurmountable losses to those unprincipled government officials who make a living out of the suffering of others. Surely, he became a threat, necessitating his obliteration in the illegal drug trade," the motion said.

The DOJ junked the drug complaints last May but the Philippine National Police and PDEA succeeded in reinstating the charges for possession of dangerous drugs against Marcelino and Yan, which were filed before the court on Tuesday. — VVP, GMA News