THE Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday came to the defense of detained Marine Lt. Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino in his bid to clear himself of illegal drug charges.
Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persida Acosta presented to a Manila court certification from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines attesting that Marcelino had been conducting intelligence operations against drug syndicates when he was caught in a drug buy-bust operation in Manila last year.
Acosta stressed the certification signed by ISAFP Chief Brig. Gen. Ronald Villanueva would show that the Marine officer was saying the truth when he said he was conducting surveillance operations at the time when he and his Chinese companion Yan Yi Shou alias Randy were arrested inside an apartment in Sta Cruz, Manila by operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group.
Acosta offered the certification before the sala of Manila City RTC, Branch 49, Judge Daniel Villanueva to back up Marcelino’s assertion of innocence.
Meanwhile, The Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into the possible administrative liability of the two trial court judges handling the cases against Albuera town Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was killed by police inside the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Baybay City in Nov. last year.
In a resolution, the SC vowed to investigate the administrative case against Judge Tarcelo Sabarre Jr. of Basey, Samar RTC Branch 30 and Judge Carlos Arguelles of the Baybay City RTC Branch 14.
Sabarre was the judge who issued a search warrant on illegal possession of firearm charges against Espinosa, who was already under custody of authorities in a government detention facility.
Arguelles, on the other hand, is facing administrative probe over his failure to immediately resolve the motion of Espinosa in his drug trafficking case for transfer out of his place to another detention.
The high court designated Court of Appeals-Cebu Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles to conduct the probe and submit a report after 90 days from receipt of records.
Aside from Sabarre and Arguelles, also covered by the administrative case is Judge Janet Cabalona of Calbiga, Samar RTC Branch 33, who also issued a search warrant against Allan Alvarez, an inmate in the regional penal colony in Abuyog, Leyte who was also killed by CIDG men when he allegedly attempted to lob a grenade while the policemen were serving the warrant in August last year.