MANILA, Philippines?Rebellious junior officers challenged to ?walk your talk? were among the government operatives involved in the buy-bust operation in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

?They delivered,? said Director Dionisio Santiago of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Santiago, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said Wednesday he was satisfied with the officers.

They were among some 300 junior officers and soldiers calling themselves ?Magdalo? who briefly seized the Oakwood Ayala Premier hotel in Makati City on July 27, 2003, demanding the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for alleged corruption.

Santiago said he took in 18 of the officers, mostly graduates of the Philippine Military Academy who were dismissed from the service after their incarceration.

Big difference

Santiago cited the 18 officers for their training, battle experience and idealism.

Given the lucrative drug trade with easy money for bribes, Santiago said he challenged the dismissed junior officers to make good their word that they wanted reforms in the country.

?I recruited them, because they are idealistic. I told them, ?You walk your talk and if you fail to be honest, you will be removed from the service?,? he said.

Commendation

Santiago said the officers, now part of PDEA?s 900-strong staff, had come to realize the big difference between fighting an enemy in the battlefield and entrapping drug traffickers in a police operation.

?They realized that every step has legal implications ? (But) they are now delivering, as expected,? he said.

A member of PMA Class ?94, Marine Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino headed the Ayala Alabang drug bust operation. He, however, did not take part in the Oakwood mutiny.

For his courage in revealing and rejecting attempts to bribe him and his men in exchange for the release of the so-called ?Alabang Boys,? Marcelino is being eyed by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon for commendation in a Senate resolution.

Biazon said he would also recommend to the AFP that Marcelino be given the Distinguished Service Star, the highest non-combat award to a soldier.

?It?s about time we recognize good deeds performed by men and women in the public service,? said Biazon, a former Marine commandant and AFP chief of staff.

Biazon referred to Marcelino?s revelation in a radio interview Wednesday that he was unable to provide for a sister who passed away after a battle with brain cancer.

Assignment review

?To me that was a very great test to his integrity and he passed the test with flying colors,? Biazon said.

Senior Marine officers spoke highly of Marcelino?s service in Mindanao, particularly against the Abu Sayyaf bandits in the infamous Dos Palmas hostage-taking incident.

?He is very idealistic and would fight for what he believes in. I don?t think anybody could bribe him nor corrupt him,? former Marine commandant Brig. Gen. Renato Miranda said.

But Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Wednesday said there was a need to review policies on the assignment of military officers to civilian agencies.

?By performing operations that are civilian in nature, our officers could be exposed to temptations which could also affect their career,? he said. With reports from Christine O. Avendaño, Jocelyn R. Uy and Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao