MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News) — Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino in a news conference on Thursday, September 22 denied that he was being pressured by the Duterte Administration to implicate Senator Leila De Lima in the narcotics trade.
He said and we quote “Categorical ko pong dine-deny na mayroong, pine-pressure ako o nananakot o nagko-coerce sa akin from the side of the government upang magsalita ako laban sa kanya.”
Marcelino, however, admitted that someone, whose exact affiliation he does not know, had asked him if he has damaging information against De Lima.
“Hindi ko masabi kung siya ay nirerepresenta niya ang kung sinong grupo, hindi ko alam ang real purpose niya at the time na kinausap niya ako. Pero sabi ko sa kanya na katotohanan lang talaga ang pwede kong sabihin,” Marcelino added.
This is in reaction to what De Lima said that Marcelino had sent two text messages to a common friend saying he was being pressured to turn against her.