Hiniling ng Philippine Navy (PN) sa Department of Justice (DoJ) na ibigay sa kustodiya ng navy si Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, na idinadawit sa P320-million drug bust, upang matiyak ang kaligtasan ng marine officer.
Sinabi ni Col. Edgard Arevalo, tagapagsalita ng PN, na hinihiling nila ito para matiyak ang kaligtasan ni Marcelino habang isinasagawa ang preliminary investigation.
“As a former Director of the Special Enforcement Division where neutralized criminal syndicates and contributed to the prosecution and conviction of prominent individuals, his life is in peril. To ensure his safety, the Navy leadership finds it appropriate to detain him at a Philippine Navy detention facility,” dagdag niya.
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“Since Lt. Col. Marcelino is in the active service, he is subject to military law. Thus, we need to place him under confinement at our detention facility while facing investigation before a body tasked to determine his liability under the Articles of War,” diin ni Arevalo.
Binigyang-diin ng tagapagsalita ng PN na ang kanilang kahilingan ay nakaangkla sa mga probisyon ng Section 3c, Executive Order Number 106, series of 1937, na nagsasaad na ang isang tauhan ng Armed Forces of the Philippines na inaresto ng pulisya o ng iba pang law enforcement agencies dahil sa diumano’y pagkakasangkot sa krimen ay dapat na kaagad isuko sa AFP authorities.
“We reiterate that the Philippine Navy does not tolerate misdeeds among its personnel. If anyone of us is accused of committing an offense, we will actively participate in ensuring that there will be an unhampered conduct of investigation. As such, we undertake to present the aforementioned Navy Officer at anytime when so ordered by the Department of Justice, the Office of the City Prosecutor of Manila, or any court of law,” dagdag niya.
“That said, we are affording to him the constitutional guarantee to be presumed innocent unless otherwise proven following due process that he is likewise entitled to,” diin ni Arevalo. (PNA)
