Lawyer claims demolition job vs Marcelino

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino on Monday claimed that the case against him is a part of a demolition job.

Last week, Marcelino and Chinese national Yan Yi Shou were arrested in a raid on a suspected shabu laboratory in Manila.

Marcelino, a former chief of a special unit of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), claimed that he was innocent and was on a mission as part of Operation Plan Moses of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

READ: Marcelino insists on innocence

"I believe right now that there is an ongoing demolition job against Col. Marcelino and trying to destroy his integrity and credibility as an anti-drug crusader in this country," Marcelino's lawyer, Dennis Manalo, said in an interview with ANC's Headstart.

Manalo claimed that the current leadership of the PDEA has a strong position against Marcelino as he has been an intense critic of the agency.

"He has been a serious critic of the agency's performance... That is a possible motive why he is being cornered right now and being asked to prove his innocence when in fact, he should be presumed innocent, he should be presumed to have acted regularly," Manalo said.

Marcelino's lawyer said that Yan was a registered tipster in the drug enforcement agency. Marcelino and the Chinese national were inspecting the suspected shabu laboratory when the raid happened.

Manalo stressed that Marcelino's presence in the laboratory is justifiable and that what happened was an "uncoordinated investigation" between the Marine officer and the PDEA.

"If the direction of the case of this incident will proceed following the lead made by the leadership in the PDEA then this will not result in a prosecution of a drug maker, of a drug dealer. This will be the crucifixion of an anti-drug crusader," Manalo said.

The lawyer added that Marcelino has dedicated his professional life in stopping drug syndicates to the point that his daughter has been kidnapped.

"Drug syndicates have even gone to the extent of kidnapping the daughter of Marcelino. This is something that is known in the drug enforcement community. Hindi ito pinag-usapan, that's why nobody believes (it). The story is just too painful to tell, too traumatic for his family," Manalo said.

Marcelino led the arrest of the so-called "Alabang Boys" for alleged possession and sale during buy-bust operations in 2008. He was known for leading high-profile drug stings and arrests.

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