PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez insisted that Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino’s tour of duty at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is illegal, thus all of his “official” acts, including the arrest of the Alabang Boys, were null and void.
“The ultra vires acts of Marcelino may be considered as null and void since he acted beyond the scope of his authority,” Gonzalez said. “His appointment is unconstitutional.”
“Article 16, sec. 5, par. 4 of the 1987 Constitution states that no member of the Armed Forces in the active service shall, at any time, be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the government, including government-owned or controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries,” Gonzalez cited.
Marcelino is an active officer of the Philippine Marines.
“Such legal question may be raised before the court anytime,” Gonzalez said as he suggested two options for Marcelino – to resign from the AFP or remain with the PDEA.
This developed as Deputy Minority Leader Roilo Golez urged Marcelino to reveal the identity of his mistah who tried to bribe him to drop the case against the “Alabang Boys.”
Golez said Marcelino should name the person or the public will doubt his credibility on the issue of bribery.
Marcelino earlier said a classmate in the Philippine Military Academy Class 94 called him and tried to convince him not to pursue the case against Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Tecson. He refused to identify the PMAer, who is now in the private sector. However, he disclosed his identity during an executive session.
Golez challenged Marcelino to identify the bribe giver in the next committee hearing.
“This is the gap in his otherwise brilliant testimony. Continued refusal would crack his credibility,” the solon said.
“I understand why he refuses to talk to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) which is under the administrative supervision and control of Secretary (Raul) Gonzalez who publicly berated him in the House hearing,” Golez added.