Navy to lift 'apprehension order' if Gadian turns herself in

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Navy on Friday said it was willing to lift the "apprehension order" against Lt. Senior Grade Nancy Gadian, only if she would voluntarily turn herself in to its custody and undergo an investigation. Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo stressed to GMANews.TV that the investigation on Gadian – who blew the whistle on alleged irregularities in the P46-million Balikatan Exercises funding in 2007 – would center not on supposed malversation issues in the military but merely on her long absence without official leave (AWOL) from service. "We are willing to lift the apprehension order simply because we want to convince her to go back to her mother unit," said Arevalo, adding that the investigation is designed not to grill her but simply give her a chance to explain her absence. Before spilling the beans on supposed pocketing of military funds, Gadian went on leave from March 9 to April 21. On April 16, she filed for resignation, the approval of which is still pending because she is still the subject of the Navy’s Efficiency and Separation Board (ESB). "Technically, she’s still a member of the AFP. She will be asked to explain why she was not able to report, went into AWOL, and became a ‘deserter.’ But it does not necessarily mean she will immediately be meted with punishment," Arevalo said. Gadian earlier accused military officials, including former Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) head Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, of having benefited from the funds released for the joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States. Gadian claimed fund anomalies in the Balikatan had not only been present in 2007 but has apparently been a "dirty trend" for the last two decades of its existence. She accused Cedo of pocketing portions of the P4-million budget for civil military operations in his turf in Mindanao that led to the shrinking of the fund to just P2.3 million. Cedo denied the accusation, saying the lady officer was merely trying to destroy his reputation. Arevalo refused to call the order against Gadian as an “arrest order," saying that referring to it as such gives it a negative connotation. "Hindi naman ito parang regular na pag-aresto na marahas at poposasan. Ito ay ‘apprehension order’ lang [This is not like the usual arrest where a suspect gets handcuffed. This is only an 'apprehension order']." As for the Gadian’s "bombshell" against the military leadership, Arevalo said that would be a whole new different issue in itself. "We want to clarify that the apprehension order is not in any way related to her allegations." He said the Navy’s investigation was only procedural, wherein anyone not reporting for work after 10 days will have to report for work and issue an explanation. Whereabouts Arevalo said copies of the apprehension order had already been distributed to all military units in the country, to ensure that Gadian would be returned to the Navy’s custody soonest. Gadian was not immediately available for comment when GMANews.TV tried reaching her by phone. If ever Gadian still insists on not reporting to her superiors at the Navy, Arevalo assured they could still get a hold of the "whistleblower" since the military "already has an idea of where she is." The ESB earlier subjected Gadian in an investigation after being accused – as cited in an adverse report prepared by Col. Antonio Dacanay – of committing three misconducts: (1) false declaration and misuse of funds (2) extravagant expenditure and (3) refusal to appear before the investigating committee under Cedo’s Western Mindanao command. Gadian contested the accusation, saying she did not live lavishly and properly handled the P2.3 million given for civil military operations in Sulu, Zamboanga del Sur, and Cotabato. Later, the prosecution “rested its case" against Gadian, who then filed a motion to dismiss the case. The ESB, however, “verbally" denied her motion. Gadian – officer in charge of the CMO Fusion Cell for the 2007 Balikatan and public affairs officer of the Balikatan exercises in 2002 – said she has decided never to return to military service after divulging the alleged funding anomaly. "Sobra na ang pang-aapak sa iyo kung alam mo namang hindi tama ang binibintang sa ‘yo. Kahit bata iiyak… Ang haba ng agony ko [What they are doing is too much. Their accusations are not ture. Even a child will cry if accused of such things. I've long been in agony]," Gadian said. - GMANews.TV