The Department of Justice has cleared Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino and his Chinese companion of drug charges for lack of evidence.
In a 15-page resolution penned by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, the DoJ found the evidence submitted by the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency insufficient to pin down Marcelino and Yan Yi Shou for committing the alleged crime. “An assiduous evaluation of the evidence presented by both parties finds the evidence so far presented by the PNP and PDEA insufficient of the required evidence to sustain a conviction during the trial on the merits of the case,” the resolution stated.
Marcelino, former intelligence officer of the PDEA, and his companion were arrested in a drug raid last Jan. 21 at a house in Sampaloc, Manila where over P380 million worth of drugs were confiscated.
The DoJ prosecutor stressed that the search warrant for the house in Sampaloc was for a certain Lo Chi aka “Tanda,” Atong Lee aka “Atong” and a certain Chu.
Villanueva also noted that both Marcelino, and Yan were not seen during the casing and surveillance of the premises.
The DoJ said that Marcelino and Yan were only encountered by the authorities during the actual raid.
The PNP and PDEA claimed that Marcelino was found sitting on a couch at the ground floor of the house, while anti-drug operatives found Yan at the second floor arranging plastic trays containing shabu.
However, the DoJ said an examination of the sworn statements submitted by the authorities failed to reveal the identities of the actual operatives who caught Yan arranging the plastic trays containing shabu.
“The PNP and PDEA alleges that respondents had possession of the illegal drugs but that is only their presumption based on the presence of the respondents at the scene of the crime which as of this writing is not supported by any independent evidence,” the DoJ ruled.
The prosecutor pointed out that authorities also failed to prove that both Marcelino and Yan had prior actual knowledge that the house was a drug laboratory.
Even Yan’s possession of the key to the house is not enough to charge them in court.
“Evidence must be presented to show that Marcelino and Yan had prior knowledge of what was to be found inside and what the two has decided to do with the contents of the house after opening the house. There should be prior overt acts of exercising control, administration, possession to show dominion over the premises and to whatever is found therein,” the DOJ said.
The DOJ said the fact that the PNP and PDEA had to ask the security of the area to open the electrical power of the house and Marcelino sitting on a couch on the first floor while the drugs were found at the second floor “cannot sustain a conviction that requires the proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
For their part, Marcelino and Yan asserted that they entered the house at 10:20 in the evening and was followed by PNP and PDEA at 10:22.
“To assume that they are very familiar with the premises that Yan could find his way to the second floor of the house and arrange plastic trays containing shabu could be a speculation,” the DOJ said.
The DOJ conducted the preliminary investigation on Marcelino and Yan for the purpose of filing the case against them in court.
Villanueva said the duty of the prosecutor is to weigh the evidence presented by both parties before decided on whether to file or dismiss a case.
“An investigating prosecutor is under no obligation to file a criminal action where he is not convinced that he has the quantum of evidence at hand to support to averments,” Villanueva said.
The DOJ ordered the release of Marcelino and Yan. However, The Court, through Judge Lyn Ebora Cacha, earlier granted Marcelino’s plea for bail.
“His mere presence at the house does not by itself makes petitioner Marcelino liable as such is merely circumstantial which is yet to be connected to the crime,” the court said.
It also said that Marcelino’s name did not even appear in the inventory of evidence as well as with the photographs taken during the inventory.
“All in all, the circumstances presented by the prosecution lacks the strength needed to show that the state has the right to completely deprive petitioner Marcelino of his provisional liberty pending hearing of the case once it is filed,” the court stressed.