FERDINAND MARCELINO: THE MARINE WHO SAID 'NO'

The soldier who stirred a hornet's nest by accusing Department of
Justice officials of bribery in the "Alabang Boys" case could have
been a millionaire by now.

Marine Maj. Ferdinand Marceli-no, chief of the Special Enforcement
Services of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), has
experienced being bribed by smugglers, politicians and drug dealers
in his 14-year career as a military officer.

But Marcelino, who belongs to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA)
Class of 1994, said he has made it a point to give back the thick
envelopes stuffed with cash, and was not even curious enough to count
the money and see how much he is worth.

The 11th of 13 children of a poor family in Bulacan, Marcelino made
it through school only through scholarships, and by working as a
campus journalist and a reporter for the tabloid Headline Manila in
the late 1980s. He entered the PMA because that was the only way he
could get a free college education.

Marcelino has taken part in the most dangerous assignments­making
sure elections take place in the farthest and deadliest towns of
Sulu, rescuing kidnap victim Jeffrey Schilling and the Dos Palmas
hostages, pursuing the Abu Sayyaf, peacekeeping in East Timor,
running after illegal loggers in Palawan­and even experienced being
held captive by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Sulu.

But he said he has never thought of taking money that could have
compensated for the risks he has taken.

Temptations in Sulu

As a young lieutenant assigned in Pangutaran, Sulu in 1996, he
experienced being given money representing the "share of the Marines"
for them to turn a blind eye to the smuggling of goods, including
noodles, from Malaysia rampant on the island. The envelope containing
the money was first handed to him by the police chief and later by a
town councilor. He turned down the bribe.

In 1998, Marcelino and his fellow soldiers were assigned to Panamao
town in Sulu to make sure elections took place. That meant he had to
go up against the mayor who wanted elections confined to his
strongholds in the town center, and offered him money and cattle not
to deliver ballot boxes in the outlying barangay or village.

He refused both cattle and money, angering the mayor who not only got
his private army fire mortars at Marcelino's detachment, but offered
P800,000 and an M-14 rifle to anyone who would kill the young Marine
officer. A child was killed instantly and 11 others were injured when
the nearby health center was hit by mortar fire.

Whenever confronted with bribe offers, Marcelino said he always
remembers his father's advice, "Kung ano ang pinakain mo sa anak mo,
ganoon din ang kalalakihan niya [What you feed your children is what
they will become]."

He also keeps in mind the PMA honor code that a cadet "does not lie,
cheat and steal and tolerate those who do."

In the limelight

The "Alabang Boys" controversy has thrust Marcelino in the limelight
after he disclosed that state prosecutors were offered a P50-million
bribe to drop the charges against Richard Brodett, Jorge Jordana
Joseph and Joseph Ramirez Tecson who were caught last September by
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operatives with a spread of
"Ecstasy" and other drugs. He also re-ported that he was offered a
P3-million bribe, which later went up to P20 million, to settle the case.

At work, Marcelino said he is oblivious to the overwhelming public
support for him in the conflict with the Justice department. But he
has felt that his "world has become smaller."

He related an incident in a San Juan restaurant a week ago when an
old man he did not know seated at another table paid for their bill.
When he thanked him for it, the old man said, "This is just my way of
thanking you for what you are doing for the country."

"Kinilabutan ako [That gave me goose bumps]," he said.

While Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez mulls how to teach the young
military officer who dared to talk back to him in a televised
congressional hearing a lesson, Marcelino said he would continue
doing what he believes is right guided by the words of Mahatma
Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

- - Ellen Tordesillas