MANILA- Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino on Friday said Senator Leila de Lima may have tried to use him to gain sympathy.
The former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) intelligence officer said De Lima should have asked his permission before showing the text messages he sent to his "mistah".
Responding to the question on whether he feels that he is being used by the senator, Marcelino replied: "On the aspect na pwede naman siyang (De Lima) magpaalam sa akin pero hindi siya nagpaalam, pwede po. I mean pwedeng she tried to use me."
He reiterated that nobody pressured him to speak against De Lima and that he was surprised when the senator showed to media his text messages.
"Nobody pressured or coerced me to speak against Sen. De Lima. As a matter of fact, in her press conferences showing those privilege exchanges of communication between me and my classmates, I did not give any consent to her neither did she approach or call me to ask permission if she can show it to the media that's why i was surprised," Marcelino said.
"If I will be summoned on any forum at the Senate or Congress or any inquiry I am only on the side of truth," he added.
Marcelino also shared what he discussed with De Lima who visited him while he was detained.
He said he only explained his case to De Lima, who was then justice secretary, in the hopes that she could help in his release.
"I said ma'am you know very well that I've been working with you, kasama niyo kong nagtatrabaho," Marcelino said.
In January 2016, the Department of Justice looked into a complaint of the Philippine National Police-Anti Illegal Drugs Group (PNP-AIDG) and PDEA against Marcelino who was arrested in a drug raid at a shabu laboratory in Manila.
The DOJ later dismissed the criminal complaint against him.
Asked regarding the testimony of Bilibid inmates against De Lima, Marcelino said: "In my own little way as an ordinary person, iyung tingin ko po eh yung sinasabi nila eh mula naman talaga sa kanila."
Marcelino, who was accompanied by Public Attorney's Office chief Persida Acosta, has filed a motion to quash his re-opened drug case and arrest order.
SOURCE: ABS-CBN
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