A FORMER Armed Forces chief of staff was allegedly disallowed to enter inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center in Camp Crame on Good Friday.
Retired Gen. Dionisio Santiago claimed that he was at the custodial center to visit his friend, detained Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino.
Marcelino was a spokesperson for the Philippine Marines when Santiago was the AFP chief.
Santiago was also a former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief while Marcelino was also a former director of the special enforcement services of the agency.
Marcelino is facing a drug complaint, together with a Chinese national, following his arrest at a clandestine “shabu” laboratory in Manila.
In a Facebook post, Santiago said he asked the guard on duty if he could visit Marcelino in his detention cell.
“They answered that they would have to ask their commander. So I waited for them to get back to me, assuming that they were just following protocol. One of them returned and said that I am not authorized to visit according to their policy,” he said. Sought for comment, the PNP said Santiago was not in the list of people authorized to visit Marcelino.