Sunday, September 25, 2016

DOJ to send high level panel of prosecutors to Marcelino plea hearing at Manila RTC on Monday

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 25): DOJ to send high level panel of prosecutors to Marcelino plea hearing at Manila RTC on Monday

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will send a high level panel of prosecutors on Monday to the Manila court hearing of the plea of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino seeking to dismiss the drug case filed against him.

The panel is composed of Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon, Senior Asst. State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera and Asst. State Prosecutor Alexander Suarez to present its case against Marcelino and his co-accused, Chinese national Yan Yi Shou, represented by Public Attorney's Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta at 9:30 a.m., Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch 17.

The court will specifically hear the motion of Marcelino and Yan seeking deferment of issuance of arrest warrant and arraignment and also the dismissal of the illegal drug possession charges against them.

Prior to the DOJ’s new ruling, PDEA and the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (PNP-AIDG) filed a Joint Omnibus Motion dated June 27, 2016 assailing the previous DOJ resolution which dismissed all the charges against Marcelino and Shou for insufficiency of evidence.

In a 28-page resolution dated Sept. 15, 2016, the DOJ, through Assistant State Prosecutor Alexander Suarez said, “Wherefore, premises considered, the Motion for Reconsideration of the Resolution dated May 23, 2016 which dismissed the complaint against the respondents for violations of Section 8 (Manufacture of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals), in relation to Section 26 (Attempt or Conspiracy), and Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals), Article II of Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the “Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002”, as amended by Republic Act 10640, is hereby Partially Granted”.

The PAO argued that there was no probable cause to indict the accused and that issuance of the arrest warrant "would have dire consequences upon them who will again be deprived of their liberty despite the weakness of the evidence against them."

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

In seeking the dismissal of the case, PAO argued that The chain of custody of seized drugs was also not "properly preserved and safeguarded."

Lastly, the PAO pointed out that it was also not in Marcelino's character to engage in illegal drugs as he was a known intelligence operative.

Marcelino and Yan, alias Randy, insisted that their arrest in a shabu facility in Sta. Cruz, Manila last Jan. 21 was illegal because they were conducting an intelligence operation at that time.

They said they were only performing their lawful duties at the time of their arrest, when anti-narcotics agents seized nearly 77 kilograms of shabu.

It cited his "commendable work of running after 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."

Marcelino has again became controversial after embattled Sen. Leila de Lima publicly claimed that he was being coerced into tagging her in illegal drugs trade - a claim that Marcelino himself immediately denied.

Earlier, DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II denied Sen. De Lima's claim, noting that he does not even know that the resolution earlier clearing Marcelino of drug charges has been reversed by his department.

“I did not even know about that resolution until I read it in the news,” Aguirre added.

DOJ Undersecretary Erickson Balmes explained that the resolution of the motion for reconsideration filed by the Philippine National Police-Anti Illegal Drugs Group and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency did not come up to the level of the Secretary's office.

“Procedurally, it does not reach the level of Secretary Aguirre. The Office of the Secretary is not involved in such case,” Balmes said in Filipino.

It was Assistant State Prosecutor Alexander Suarez who signed the resolution reversing the June 21 resolution of the DOJ clearing Marcelino and his Chinese companion Yan Yi Shou of the drug charges.

The resolution was approved by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon.
Balmes also denied de Lima’s claim that they are pressuring Marcelino to testify against the senator.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=926027

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