AFP: Marcelino entitled to legal assistance, due process

Former PDEA official Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino. INQUIRER PHOTO

Former anti-narcotics agent Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino may avail himself of legal assistance from the military should he ask for it, a spokesman said on Monday.

“In accordance with our justice system, Lt. Col. Marcelino is presumed innocent until proven otherwise and such is entitled to legal assistance if so requested,” Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.

No request has been made so far. Marcelino’s legal counsel is Dennis Manalo.

“We understand and will respect his choice of counsel,” Padilla said.

Marcelino, a known drug buster of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in mid-2000s, was arrested by operatives in a drug raid in a townhouse in Manila — a surprise to the drug enforcement community.

Drugs worth over P300 million were seized by operatives in the operation.

Marcelino is currently a Marine officer and belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1994.

Padilla also appealed to authorities and the public to accord Marcelino due process.

“Let’s allow this to take its due course before we judge the person,” he said.

In the military, Padilla said that Marcelino has a “very credible reputation” according to the people he worked with.

“We cannot judge as of this time. There are many operations occurring that have deeper origins and basis so in our case, we leave it to the investigating authorities to determine that but we are sure that in the end the truth behind this will come out,” Padilla said. ASU