MARINE Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino and his Chinese coaccused Yan Yi Shou in a P380-million illegal-drugs case have asked the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Manila to reverse its resolution denying their motion to dismiss the case and to defer issuance of arrest warrants against them.
In a 31-page omnibus motion for reconsideration and to lift warrant of arrest filed through the Public Attorney’s Office, Marcelino and Yan insisted that the charges of illegal possession of dangerous drugs filed against them have no basis.
“With all due respect, herein accused beg the Honorable Court to take a second hard look on Lieutenant Colonel Marcelino’s involvement in clandestine operations to eradicate illegal drugs,” the motion said.
It can be recalled that Marcelino and Yan were charged with violating Section 11 (possession of dangerous drugs), Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, in connection with their arrest and the recovery of P380 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu in an apartment in Santa Cruz, Manila, a year ago.
The two argued that Judge Daniel Fernandez of Branch 49 of the RTC in Manila erred when he held that they failed to give a good and credible account of their presence in the premises where they were arrested.
The accused added that the RTC in Manila committed a mistake in ruling that there was conspiracy between them.
“The Honorable Court failed to consider that the presence of accused Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino was in fulfillment of his duty as a military intelligence officer,” the motion stated.
This developed as Marcelino’s co-accused finally surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday, several hours after the marine officer surrendered to the Armed Forces Provost Marshal General in Camp Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said Yan Yi Shou, alias Randy, turned himself to the NBI Special Task Force headed by head agent Moises Tamayo.
“We are proud to announce that Yan Yi Shou is now in the custody of the NBI. This is a welcome development insofar as our pursuit of this case is concerned,” Aguirre said.
“As we have said before, we will be relentless in this fight,” he added.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday earlier asked Branch 49 of the RTC in Manila, which issued the warrants of arrest against Marcelino and Yan, to also issue hold-departure orders against them to prevent them from leaving the country and avoid prosecution.
Marcelino and Yan were arrested by a team from the National Police-Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and subsequently charged before the DOJ.
Marcelino denied the charges and said he was in the said apartment for a covert surveillance operation as a member of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces (Isafp).
He even submitted a certification from the Army Intelligence Group attesting to the fact that he is sharing information on the alleged involvement of Army personnel in the illegal drugs trade from September to December last year.
Marcelino said the root cause of his arrest was because then-Pdea Dir. Gen. Arturo G. Cacdac Jr. was “historically irate” at his continued involvement in the antidrug campaign of the government.
In June last year the DOJ, through Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, junked all the charges against Marcelino and Yan for insufficiency of evidence, prompting the AIDG and Pdea to file a motion for reconsideration.