QC court allows ex-PDEA officer Marcelino to post bail

Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino raises his hands as he leaves DOJ building after attending the preliminary hearing at the office of Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva at the Department of Justice in Manila. EDWIN BACASMAS/Philippine Daily Inquirer File Photo

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC) has allowed Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino to post bail for his temporary liberty.

Marcelino, former intelligence officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was arrested in a drug raid last January 21 at a house in Sampaloc, Manila where over P380-million worth of drugs were confiscated.

In a 29-page resolution, Judge Lyn Ebora Cacha said there was not enough evidence to deny Marcelino’s request for bail.

The court “finds no strong evidence against Lt. Col. Marcelino for several reasons. The petitioner Marcelino was found in the ground floor and there was no illegal drugs confiscated in his possession or in his immediate vicinity.”

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The court added that there was no proof that Marcelino had any knowledge or control of the illegal drugs found in the area.

Marcelino was found resting on a sofa when authorities arrived in the area.

“There was no overt act on his (Marcelino’s) part that would show knowledge or control over any substance in the house,” the court added.

It also pointed out that authorities also failed to show Marcelino’s connection with the offense that was the subject of the search warrant.

Even the house and car keys were not in Marcelino’s possession but found in his companion Yan Yi Shuo.

“His mere presence at the house does not by itself makes petitioner Marcelino liable as such is merely circumstantial which is yet to be connected to the crime,” the court said.

The court added that Marcelino’s name did not even appear in the inventory of evidence as well as with the photographs taken during the inventory.

“All in all, the circumstances presented by the prosecution lacks the strength needed to show that the state has the right to completely deprive petitioner Marcelino of his provisional liberty pending hearing of the case once it is filed,” the court said.

The case for violation of the Dangerous Drugs is still pending before the Department of Justice. CDG

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