Palace: No conflict on DND, DOJ probes of corruption in AFP

Malacañang insisted over the weekend there will be no conflict between two fact-finding panels looking into the “pabaon" (sendoff money) and other instances of corruption in the military. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the panel from the Department of Justice (DOJ) has different focus from the other group from the Department of National Defense (DND). “Of course ang sa DOJ, ang end nito is also for filing of charges kung may dapat patawan ng kaso. Ang sa DND naman, magiging fact-finding ito and primarily dahil ito talaga ang civilian authority over the Armed Forces of the Philippines, mas familiar ang ito sa sistema sa AFP. So, mas madali sila makaka-gather ng facts about the allegation," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. (The DOJ’s end-goal is to file charges against those found liable. The DND’s focus, on the other hand, is to gather facts because it is the civilian authority over the AFP. So, it is in a better position to gather facts.) But she also said the Palace is waiting for one of the potential beneficiaries of the pabaon – Ambassador Roy Cimatu, who heads the Middle East preparedness task force – to talk on the matter. She said the two panels may even coordinate with each other in their work. Valte added the DND group is likely to focus on the “pabaon system," where past AFP chiefs of staff supposedly got hefty amounts, with Angelo Reyes allegedly getting P50 million. “President Benigno Aquino III is waiting for the recommendation of the two panels," she said. Moreover, she said the Palace expects Cimatu, a holdover official of the Arroyo administration, to speak on the matter. Cimatu also served as AFP chief of staff under Arroyo’s watch. At a Senate hearing last Thursday, former military budget officer retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa said then AFP chief of staff Angelo Reyes got P50 million in “sendoff money" upon his retirement from the organization. Rabusa said other AFP chiefs of staff, including Cimatu and Diomedio Villanueva, also benefited from the pabaon. But AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said the practice stopped with the abolition of the office of the AFP deputy chief of staff for comptrollership (J6) in 2004. The office was scrapped due to the scandal involving former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. Garcia now faces a plunder case before an anti-graft court amid accusations of amassing over P300 million in ill-gotten wealth while he was in active service. “As far as I know, Cimatu has not talked about the issue, so let’s see what happens. But this happened only Friday, let’s see how Cimatu reacts," Valte said. Rabusa to link Arroyo? Valte also declined to comment on reports that Rabusa may link former President Gloria Arroyo to the mess, saying the retired colonel is still completing his affidavit. “Let us wait for Rabusa to make his full statement before we comment. He just gave a hint he will detail everything he knows in his affidavit," she said, adding that what is important is the Aquino administration is moving to eradicate the practice. Pursuit of plunder case Valte downplayed claims the focus on Reyes and the pabaon may make the public forget about Garcia, who faces a P300-million plunder case. [See story: Fearless auditor tracks P200-M plunder trial] She said it was because of the plunder charges against Garcia that the pabaon and other alleged corrupt practices in the AFP were made public. “The way we see it, Garcia cannot escape scrutiny because it was his plunder case that started all this. And witnesses in the Senate had indicated some sort of collusion as Reyes was chief of staff while Garcia was comptroller and Rabusa was budget officer. So it is hard for Garcia to get out of the picture," she said. On the other hand, Valte said the government remains open to giving witness protection to Rabusa, noting Justice Secretary Leila de Lima already said so. — LBG, GMANews.TV