(Eagle News)– The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 17 deferred on Monday (September 26) the issuance of arrest warrant and arraignment against Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino and Chinese national Yan Yi Shou, following a case filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Judge Felicitas Laron-Cacanindin gave DOJ 10 days to file its comment to the omnibus motion filed by the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).
The PAO– representing both Marcelino and Yan– told the court that there was no probable cause to proceed with the trial for possession of illegal drugs.
The PAO also stressed that the arrests were illegal because it was not established that Marcelino and Yan have the control over the premises where the narcotics were found.
Marcelino, a former official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and Yan had explained that they were only doing their lawful duties at the time when authorities seized almost 77 kilograms of shabu in a raid at a house in Sta. Cruz, Manila.
