WE DN E S DAY : J UN E 2 2 , 2 0 1 6
A5
NEWS
editorial@thestandard.com.ph
Tunnel of art. A well-maintained underpass along Makati Avenue, Makati City gets spruced up with works of art done by professional artists. SONNY ESPIRITU
Marcelino, pal cleared of raps By Rey E. Requejo
THE Department of Justice has cleared Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino and his Chinese companion of drug charges for lack of evidence. In a 15-page resolution penned by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, the DoJ found the evidence submitted by the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency insufficient to pin down Marcelino and Yan Yi Shou for committing the alleged crime. “An assiduous evaluation of the evidence presented by both parties finds the evidence so far presented by the PNP and PDEA insufficient of the required evidence to sustain a conviction during the trial on the merits of the case,” the resolution stated.
Marcelino, former intelligence officer of the PDEA, and his companion were arrested in a drug raid last Jan. 21 at a house in Sampaloc, Manila where over P380 million worth of drugs were confiscated. The DoJ prosecutor stressed that the search warrant for the house in Sampaloc was for a certain Lo Chi aka “Tanda,” Atong Lee aka “Atong” and a certain Chu. Villanueva also noted that both Marcelino, and Yan were not seen during the casing and surveillance of the premises. The DoJ said that Marcelino and Yan were only encountered
by the authorities during the actual raid. The PNP and PDEA claimed that Marcelino was found sitting on a couch at the ground floor of the house, while antidrug operatives found Yan at the second floor arranging plastic trays containing shabu. However, the DoJ said an examination of the sworn statements submitted by the authorities failed to reveal the identities of the actual operatives who caught Yan arranging the plastic trays containing shabu. “The PNP and PDEA alleges that respondents had possession of the illegal drugs but that is only their presumption based on the presence of the respondents at the scene of the crime which as of this writing is not supported by any independent evidence,” the DoJ ruled.
Two more drug suspects killed; 6 others arrested By Florante S. Solmerin THE ‘killing spree’ in the illegal drug trade continues. Two more suspected drug dealers were killed on Tuesday during a joint operation of law enforcers in Quezon City the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said. In Taguig City, police arrested six alleged drug traffickers among 10 most wanted men in the city. In Surigao del Norte, congressman-elect Robert Ace Barbers took up the cudgels for the police by saying that the killings of 68 suspected drug traders from January to June 2016 was a result of legitimate encounters between law enforcers and criminals. Barbers, a three-term lawmaker in the House, said policemen who were responsible for the recent spate of killings of drug pushers must be commended instead of being criticized. But the killings also prompted the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to issue a
five-point guide on the morality of killings of suspects in a law enforcer’s line of duty. Acknowledging that the CBCP statement was a “valid general statement,” outgoing House deputy majority leader and Citizens Battle Against Corruption party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna said the CBCP should also be concerned about the lives of arresting authorities are also in danger. In the Quezon City incident, the suspects were on board their vehicle when they fired at the police and tried to escape, said CIDG director Victor Deona. This prompted the other deployed police teams to chase the suspects until they were cornered along NIA Road. Instead of surrendering, the suspects opted to exchange gunfire with the authorities that resulted in their sustaining of gunshot wounds,” said Sr. Supt. Ronald Lee, CIDG-NCR chief. The suspects were rushed to the East Avenue Medical Center but were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician. With Maricel Cruz and Joel Zurbano
Comelec’s Lim quits post as campaign finance chair By Rey E. Requejo
THE Commission on Elections has accepted the resignation of Commissioner Christian Robert Lim as chair of the Campaign Finance Office. Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said the en banc accepted Lim’s resignation with regret during its session Tuesday. “The en banc has accepted the resignation of Comelec Comm. Christian Robert Lim as head of the Campaign Finance Of-
fice, with regret. In fact, we expressed our gratitude to him for all the work he has done in respect of campaign finance,” Bautista told reporters. Since Lim’s irrevocable resignation was effective on Monday, Bautista said the en banc designated Comelec executive director Jose Tolentino as officer-in-charge of CFO. Bautista explained that they appointed Tolentino as OIC because there are urgent administrative concerns that CFO has to promptly act such as the issuance of cer-
tificates of compliance to candidates who already filed their statements of contributions and expenditures (SOCEs). “For the meantime, Tolentino will be the officer-in-charge while we are still deliberating on who should replace Com Lim because it is a big responsibility. Besides, the en banc wants to find out the extent of the functions of the office,” the Comelec chief stressed. Nonetheless, Bautista insinuated the possibility that they will just appoint a “permanent
employee” instead of another commissioner, who has a fixed term. In a letter filed Monday afternoon, Lim tendered his resignation following the “policy shift” that allows candidates and political parties that failed to meet the June 8 deadline to still file SOCEs. In his capacity as CFO chairman, Lim recommended that the en banc should deny giving such an extension particularly the request filed by the Liberal Party and its standardbearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.