Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino regained his freedom on Thursday after the Department of Justice dropped the drug-related complaint filed against him and intelligence asset Yan Yi Shou.

FREE AGAIN Lt. Col Ferdinand Marcelino gets a hug from a friend after his release from detention on drug charges as his lawyer, Public Assistance Office chief Persida Rueda Acosta, looks on. PHOTO BY RUY L. MARTINEZ

Marcelino was freed from detention in Camp Aguinaldo after the Manila Regional Trial Court ordered his release.

His lawyer, Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Rueda Acosta, brought the court order to Camp Aguinaldo.

The DoJ reversed its ruling on the case of Marcelino who was arrested in a drug warehouse along with Shou, his asset, in January 2016.

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Marcelino, a former official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), claimed that he was on a secret operation when agents found him in a shabu warehouse in Manila. Seized from the drug bust was P320 million worth of shabu.

The DoJ said that no drugs were found on Marcelino.

Marcelino said he has no plans to get back at his accusers.

“I have learned so many things while in jail...forgiveness is more powerful than vengeance and compassion is better than anger,” he told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.

“Right now, I am waiting for the instructions from the Armed Forces. I think my family already knows that I was already released since it came out in the news. I am very thankful,” he said.

“I am really overwhelmed of joy. When you are detained, it’s like you were killed because you will lose every personal belongings and even your family,” Marcelino added.

The resolution signed by Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco affirmed an earlier ruling dated May 23, 2016, that dismissed the complaint against Marcelino.

The DoJ found no probable cause to indict Marcelino and gave credence to the evidence he presented,

including the certifications from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation that he was on a secret anti-drug operation when he was arrested.

“Lt. Col. Marcelino and Yan Yi Shou have sufficiently proven that they were in performance of a lawful duty when they were chanced upon by the PNP and PDEA joint team, thereby negating the evidence of the complainants-appellees purportedly establishing that they are probably involved in the manufacture of illegal drugs, conspiracy in the manufacture thereof, or illegal possession of the same,” the DoJ said.

with KENNETH HERNANDEZ