MANILA, Philippines—Retired generals and flag officers of the Armed Forces are backing the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and its director general, Dionisio Santiago, for enforcing drug laws “without fear or favor.”

Mired in a bribery controversy involving a drug case against the so-called “Alabang Boys,” the PDEA must be given strong support for continuing to do its mandated duties well, the Association of Generals and Flag Officers Inc. (Agfo) said in a resolution.

The Agfo board of directors approved the resolution on Wednesday, a day after Santiago and Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, head of the PDEA’s Special Enforcement Service, confirmed during an inquiry by the House committee on dangerous drugs that bribes were offered for the release of Richard Brodett, Joseph Tecson and Jorge Joseph.

The Agfo resolution, a copy of which was made available yesterday to reporters at Camp Aguinaldo, was signed by retired Maj. Gen. Jose Maria Solquillo and retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echeverria, the Agfo’s corporate secretary and chair, respectively.

Even behind bars, former Marine Corps commandant Gen. Renato Miranda urged his fellow Marines to rally behind Marcelino, 35.

“The kid deserves everyone’s support. He is confronting one of the most difficult challenges. It’s a fight between good and evil, and it has nothing to do with politics,” Miranda told the Inquirer on the phone.

Miranda, who is facing coup charges along with other officers, said he was saddened that there was “hardly any officer in active military service” speaking up for Marcelino.

“I pity the kid. This is the time that everyone should unite and give him all-out support,” Miranda said.

The Alabang Boys were arrested by Marcelino and other PDEA agents in buy-bust operations in Muntinlupa City and Quezon City on Sept. 20, 2008. The three were found carrying tablets of Ecstasy, sachets of cocaine and packets of marijuana.

Marcelino, whom Santiago has described as “incorruptible,” testified at the recent House inquiry that offers of P3 million to P20 million were made to him by parties related to Brodett, Joseph and Tecson in exchange for their release.

Santiago also testified that the Alabang Boys supplied illegal drugs to the Embassy Super Club in Taguig City and other high-end bars in Makati City and Quezon City. (The Embassy management denied this.)

Said the Agfo in its resolution: “Through the years, the PDEA has been conscientious in the performance of its duties, [and] in doing its mandated tasks, it has been subjected to a lot of innuendoes and brickbats, so as to discredit its good name, its personnel.

“Patriotic and decent people should go out of their way to support a government agency that is performing its duties to the best of its abilities.”

The retired generals and flag officers agreed to furnish President Macapagal-Arroyo, Vice President Noli de Castro, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Prospero Nograles copies of the resolution.

In an earlier TV interview, Marine Corps commandant Gen. Ben Dolorfino cautioned his men against backing Marcelino.

“My advice to them is to be professional about the matter. For us in the military, it is always the interest of the unit above our own,” Dolorfino said.

“If we have a personal opinion on the matter, then let us just keep it [to] ourselves. We cannot express it in public because it might be misinterpreted for something else that might put the military organization in a bad light,” he said.

But according to Miranda, “speaking and upholding the truth is not about politics.”

“Marcelino has to be appreciated and supported for his integrity, being a Marine officer. We must all be proud of him,” Miranda said.

The Philippine Military Academy’s Bantay Laya Class of 1994, to which Marcelino belongs, also expressed “steadfast support” for him, saying he had “always been a man of action and principle.”

In an e-mail to the Inquirer, the Bantay Laya Class said Marcelino possessed “resolute spirit and determination to accomplish his duties and responsibilities with incorruptible integrity.”

“We admire his loyalty to God and country, as well as his courage to stand against what is morally wrong. We know his fight will not be an easy one, but we as a class will be there to support him in whatever legal means we can,” the class said.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander Yano offered advice to Marcelino when the latter visited Camp Aguinaldo on Friday.

According to military spokesperson Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres Jr., Yano invited Marcelino to his office for a brief conversation.

“Being the father of the AFP, the chief of staff gave him advice, as he would to a soldier in a difficult situation,” Torres said in recounting to reporters the 15-minute exchange between Yano and Marcelino.

Yano’s advice, according to Torres, was for Marcelino to never waver on the side of truth, to preserve and maintain his moral courage and to be on the lookout against groups with vested interests that might take advantage of him.

“The advice shows that the chief of staff appreciates Marcelino’s moral courage,” Torres said.

He said it was Yano’s habit to offer guidance to junior officers embroiled in tough circumstances, and that Yano occasionally checks on the conditions of the detained Magdalo soldiers who mounted the Oakwood mutiny in 2003.

“Even if there are accusations against you, as long as you are part of the AFP, it is incumbent upon him to give advice and do something about what is happening, especially now,” Torres said, adding:

When asked by reporters on Thursday whether, as proposed by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, the AFP would confer on Marcelino the Distinguished Service Star, the highest noncombat award for a soldier, Yano said: “Not at this moment.”

He said the conferment of the award had to go “through the proper channels.” With report from Joselle Badilla, Inquirer Mindanao