Busting the drug buster?

THE arrest of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino in a drug bust operation four days ago is seriously alarming.

Either of the versions of the story – that Marcelino, who made a name for himself for busting drug syndicates when he was director until 2012 of the Special Enforcement Service (SES) of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), was framed up or that he has succumbed to the temptation of big money – is indeed worrisome because it would show that the multi-billion peso illegal drugs trade has penetrated the law enforcement agency.