Marine officer caught in drug bust surrenders to military

Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino raises his hands as he leaves the Department of Justice building after attending the preliminary hearing on Feb. 10, 2016. —INQUIRER PHOTO

Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, a former operative of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) whose arrest was ordered by a regional trial court last week, surrendered to the military on Tuesday.

Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said Marcelino “voluntarily surrendered” to the provost marshal at Camp Aguinaldo at around 12 noon.

“He was accompanied by his sister … so we are currently processing all the necessary requirements, fingerprinting, mugshots and physical examination,” he said.

Arevalo said the AFP would file a petition to seek custody of Marcelino.

“We are filing a petition for his custody before the courts para nasa atin muna sa AFP ang kanyang custody in the process,” he said.

Marcelino will be detained at the AFP custodial center for the meantime while waiting for the decision of the court on their petition.

The Manila Regional Trial Court ordered the arrest of the Marine officer in a drug case filed by the Department of Justice last Dec. 27.

The court rejected Marcelino’s motion to dismiss the charges against him for possession of illegal drugs.

The eight-page order said that Marcelino and his Chinese cohort Yan Yi Shou “failed to give a good and credible account of their presence” in Unit No. 15 of Celadon Residences in Felix Huertas on Jan. 21 last year, when they were arrested by PDEA and police authorities in a drug bust.

Marcelino claimed he was on a secret mission authorized by the military at the time.rga