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By Sammy Martin, Reporter
Lutong Macao.
Loosely translated, the phrase that has become a
part of the more colorful vocabulary of many Filipinos means a
“farce.” Literally, it means “Cooked in Macao,” which when
stretched can mean, pejoratively, that anything prepared in Macao
stinks, and so does China, where Macao is.
And a farce was exactly how the Marine who said
“No” to many bribe attempts on him as an enforcer of the law on
Tuesday described the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
exonerating a Justice undersecretary and four state prosecutors of
bribery allegations.
The Marine officer, Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino of
the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), had accused officials
and prosecutors of the Department of Justice (DOJ) of having been
bribed with P50 million by the camp of the “Alabang
Boys”—three young men from well-off families suspected of
drug-trafficking—in exchange for the release of the three
suspects.
Marcelino led separate entrapments of the boys
in September 2008, and his agency has since detained them despite a
resolution from the Justice department dropping the drug charges
against the suspects.
Not surprised
During a telephone interview with The Manila
Times, Marcelino said he was not surprised with the clearing on
Monday of Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, Chief State
Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, Senior State Prosecutor Philip Kimpo and
State Prosecutors John Resado and Misael Ladaga after an
investigation that had been conducted by the National Bureau of
Investigation.
From the start, he insisted, he was not given a
fair shake by the bureau’s Special Task Force, headed by lawyer
Arnel Dalumpines. The task force led the probe.
“From January 10 [this year] onward,
[Dalumpines] was telling the media that I had not been cooperating
with the task force and that I was belittling its investigation,”
Marcelino said.
During the telephone interview, he disputed
Dalumpines’ statements, saying that he gave his word to lawyer
Dulce Ricafort that he would “cooperate” with the investigators.
Ricafort, according to him, was Dalumpines’ emissary.
Dalumpines had said that the task force cleared
the prosecutors because the anti-drug agency failed to submit
evidence to support its bribery accusations.
Marcelino, also the chief of the agency’s
Special Enforcement Services, said he had been asked to show up
twice at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters to share
information on the alleged P50-million bribery. Both times, he
admitted, he failed to do so because he had earlier commitments.
“I received the first invitation on January 6,
but I told them that I cannot attend because I was in the middle of
[an anti-drug] operation. And that was why I was late for a
congressional inquiry [into the alleged bribery] on the same day,”
Marcelino explained.
Another slips away
That operation resulted in the arrest of Vince
Yu, but he allegedly was freed by a government prosecutor who
claimed that the arresting officer forgot to bring with him his
identification card identifying him as a true government agent.
Marcelino said the second invitation was made on
January 9, but he failed to appear before the Dalumpines panel
because he was scheduled to call on Gen. Alexander Yano, the chief
of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“What do you expect from an investigation that
is half-baked? Not to mention that the NBI is under DOJ, do you
expect to grill your boss who is directly in-charge of
administrative supervision and handles promotions and funds?”
Marcelino pointed out, apparently referring to Justice Secretary
Raul Gonzalez. “Kita mo agad ang kanilang pagiging biased [You can
easily see that the NBI was biased against me].”
President’s orders
He said that he can no longer elaborate on other
details because they in the anti-drug agency were told by the new
drug czar, President Gloria Arroyo herself, to refrain from talking
to the media and just wait for another investigation of the bribery
allegations that the President said would be conducted by an
independent team that she had ordered Gonzalez to create.
“We were told [by President Arroyo] to divulge
what we know and just wait for the proper forum, which is the
independent investigation,” Marcelino said.
When asked if he was willing to identify his
mistah or classmate in the Philippine Military Academy who had
offered him a bribe in exchange for dropping the charges against the
“Alabang Boys,” he said that he had already revealed the
identity of the mistah to the House committee that investigated the
bribery allegations during an executive session.
According to Marcelino, he will divulge the
mistah’s name in public once the impartial probe starts.
“I have to talk to my mistah about my
intention to tell what I know during the course of the independent
investigation. He told me that he was ready to face the
investigators if the time is already ripe for him to do so,” he
said.
Marcelino vowed to reveal everything to the
independent probers and said that he can prove his earlier
allegations that money changed hands in the Justice department.
Gonzalez on Monday said Marcelino could face
charges of obstruction of justice over the bribery allegations.
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