Col. Ferdinand Marcelino. SCREENGRAB FROM RUEL PEREZ’S TWITTER VIDEO
Saying the arrest of a former official of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was a “cause for concern,” Senator Grace Poe on Thursday urged authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter with “full transparency” and to send a strong message that no one is above the law.
“While I commend the PDEA for another successful raid, the possible involvement of a ranking military officer in the illegal drug trade is a cause for concern,” Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, said in a statement.
“I urge the police and the government prosecutors to investigate the matter thoroughly and with full transparency to get to the bottom of this. This should send a strong message that no one is above the law.”
“I also urge the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) leadership to look into the matter seriously to ensure that no one from its ranks is involved in this illegal trade,” she further said.
Poe, one of the leading presidential contenders in May, was reacting to the reported arrest of the former director of the PDEA’s Special Enforcement Services, Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, who was nabbed along with a Chinese national in a drug bust operation that yielded P320 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride (“shabu”) at a house in Manila.
READ: Former PDEA official, Chinese national nabbed for P320-M ‘shabu’
The senator pointed out that Congress has already amended the Dangerous Drugs Act to give it more teeth and make it easier to put drug pushers and conspirators behind jail.
“That law was amended last year and hopefully, we are now feeling its positive effects in the fight against drugs,” said Poe.