Marcelino, Yan file omnibus motion seeking reversal of Manila court ruling on drug raps against them

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 4): Marcelino, Yan file omnibus motion seeking reversal of Manila court ruling on drug raps against them

Marine officer Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino and his co-accused Chinese national Yan Yi Shou alias Randy filed a omnibus motion before a Manila court seeking to reverse its resolution denying their motion to dismiss the case and to defer issuance of arrest warrants against them in connection to the drug case filed by the Philippine National Police-Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (PNP-AIDG) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) last September in a PHP380 million drug bust in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

In a 31-page omnibus motion filed through the Public Attorney's Office, Marcelino and Yan asked Manila RTC Branch 49 Judge Daniel Villanueva to reconsider his order last Dec. 22 issuing the warrants for their arrest saying that the court erred in ruling that they failed to give a good and credible account of their presence in the premises of the apartment in Sta.Cruz, Manila where they were arrested in an anti-drug operation in January last year by combined operatives of the PNP-AIDG and PDEA.

"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. When Lt. Col. Marcelino went to the said area at the Celadon Residences, he was with Yan to verify a raw information that the said place was an abandoned shabu facility," said in motion.

It can be recalled that Marcelino and his Chinese pal were charged for violating Section 11 (possession of dangerous drugs), Article II of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in connection with their arrest and the recovery of PHP380 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” in an apartment in Sta. Cruz, Manila a year ago.

Marcelino also disagreed with part of the order of the court wherein it described him as a “a self-appointed anti-drug crusader with self-enabled authority to enter alleged suspected drug den, laboratory or premises even for alleged verification purposes” adding that he was not only acting as an intelligence officer of PDEA at that time because he is also a military intelligence officer and a part of the on-going anti-illegal drug effort undertaken by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

He also told the court that before proceeding to the area, he even coordinated with PDEA Director Randy Pedroso and asked if there were similar operations in the area to prevent possible rumble in the gathering of information that may compromise the operation.

The motion said Pedroso was already informed that Marcelino was then conducting an operation in that area against those involved in the illegal drugs trade based on the information provided by Yan.

Marcelino argued he deemed it necessary not to share the said information provided by Yan since it it is premature for him to share the said information to any other government law enforcement agency at that time and he decided to verify it.

“Having done many covert intelligence operations in the past, Lt. Col. Marcelino thought it best to verify the information given by Randy,” he said in his plea.
He earlier submitted a certification from the Philippine Army Intelligence Group showing that he is sharing information on the alleged involvement of Army personnel in the illegal drugs trade from September to December last year.

Marcelino also said that the Manila court’s ruling using the “strong evidence” ruling against Yan in the March 27, 2016 resolution issued by Judge Lyn Ebora-Cacha, Presiding Judge of the Quezon city regional trial court branch 82 holds no water in the present case.
“In the proceedings before this Honorable Court, what is being determined is the existence of probable cause that would merit the issuance of warrant of arrest against the herein accused while in the proceedings before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 82, what was passed upon was whether the evidence of guilt of accused Lt. Col. Marcelino was strong based on the evidence presented during the summary hearing on the petition for bail,” it said adding that even the Quezon city court found the evidence and the testimonies of witnesses against him insufficient to further detain him.

Further, Marcelino explained that there is no prima facie evidence of the existence of conspiracy between him and Yan and that evidence showed they are not in effective control or possession of whatever contraband allegedly found inside the place where they were arrested.

He also cited the statements of the buildings’ security guards showing that the PNP-AIDG and PDEA operatives arrived two minutes after he and Yan arrived at Unit 15 of the Celadon Residences and not he added several hours as claimed by the arresting officers.Marcelino also said that based on the ruling of the Quezon city RTC, he was found on the ground floor and there was no illegal drugs confiscated in his possession or in his immediate vicinity and that there was no showing that he had any knowledge or control of the illegal drugs found in the property subject of the search warrant.
Apart from lifting of the arrest warrant, Marcelino also reiterated his plea for dismissal of the charges for lack of probable cause.

Marcelino on Tuesday surrendered to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) while Yan surrendered Tuesday night to the NBI Special Task Force headed by Head Agent Moises Tamayo.

Also on Tuesday, the DOJ panel of prosecutors asked the Manila RTC to issue a hold departure order against Marcelino and Yan to make sure they would not be able to leave the country while standing trial for the drug case.

The two men were nabbed by anti-narcotics operatives last Jan. 21, 2016 in an abandoned shabu laboratory at the Celadon Residences in Sta. Cruz, Manila where authorities seized 76,697.7 grams of shabu worth over PHP380 million.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=952647