Ex-COA auditor bares suspicious bank account in Garcia’s province

(Updated 9:08 p.m.) Millions of dollars from the United Nations (UN) passed through a bank account in Iloilo—home province of former military comptroller Carlos Garcia, an alleged plunderer—before reaching military coffers, a former state auditor told a congressional inquiry on Tuesday. Attending a hearing by the House committee on justice, Heidi Mendoza, formerly of the Commission on Audit (COA), said a “clearing account" in an Iloilo bank received millions of dollars from the UN and converted it to Philippine peso. She said it was “unusual" for a provincial bank to receive huge amounts of money from the UN — reportedly payments and reimbursements for the participation of Filipino troops in UN peacekeeping operations — since the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has a bank account in Metro Manila. “Dollars ito. Millions of dollars kapag pinasok sa bangko, kapag lumabas ay peso na yan... Dun sa pinakamalapit na Landbank sa Armed Forces of the Philippines, dapat ‘yun ang nag-clear," she said. (It was in dollars, millions of dollars, when it came in, and then in peso when it came out. The Landbank near the AFP should be the one that cleared it.) She, however, said she was unable to find out who the owner of the account was, although she mentioned that Garcia, accused of amassing more than P300 million in ill-gotten wealth while still in military service, was from the same province. When asked about the Iloilo bank account, Garcia said he is not aware that it even existed. “I’m not aware of this. I will check the record," he said.
Mendoza added that the military comptroller before Garcia, retired Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot, also created a “clearing account" in his wife’s home city, General Santos in Mindanao, during his term. The former COA auditor also said that while the money only “passed through" and not kept in the bank account, the owner of the “clearing account" may have benefited from the transaction’s interest. During the inquiry, the House panel decided to ask for the help of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the banks involved to determine the owner of the account. DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya, meanwhile, said they are ready to cooperate in the investigation by the House panel. "The DFA is reviewing its records and will make itself available for official inquiries on the matter," Malaya said in a text message. UN resident representative to the Philippines Jacqueline Badcock, for her part, said she had to consult with the UN headquarters in New York before giving any comment. Walk naked Mendoza had earlier claimed to have tracked down the P200 million Garcia allegedly authorized to be transferred from the Armed Forces’ Landbank account in San Juan to a questionable bank account in Makati. During the House probe, the former state auditor maintained that she believed the pieces of evidence in the plunder case against Garcia were “strong," to the point that she threatened to walk naked with officials from the Office of the Ombudsman if the case was dismissed. “Meron kaming sumpaan, kapag na-dismiss ang Garcia case, maglalakad kami ng hubo’t hubad mula Sandiganbayan hanggang Welcome Rotonda (We vowed that in case the Garcia case was dismissed, we’ll walk naked from Sandiganbayan to Welcome Rotonda)," she said. Mendoza likewise told the House panel how she proceeded with her investigation on military funds despite orders from then Audit Commissioner Emmanuel Dalman to “go slow" on the investigation. “Hindi ko alam kung ano ibig sabihin ng ‘dahan dahan’ pero ginagalang ko si Dalman. So I trusted him na baka nun sinabi niya na dahan dahan lang because I know the issues are of national security," she said. (I didn’t know what he meant by “go slow" but I respect him. So I trusted him and thought that maybe he said that because he knew the issues were of national security.) She likewise asked the chamber to protect her family after her testimony, which the House panel leadership granted. “I will ask for the security ko at ng mga anak ko. Maawa kayo sa akin maawa kayo sa mga anak ko (Please spare my family, my children, from this)," she said. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima also earlier approved the provisional coverage for Mendoza under the Witness Protection Program. Palace impressed Malacañang, meanwhile, was “impressed" with Mendoza’s testimony, describing her as a “credible witness" and that she deserves protection from the State. “We are impressed with what she said. We believe that she is a credible witness and we believe that she should be protected," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters. Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino III was monitoring the testimony of Mendoza through the television while having an informal meeting with his Cabinet and going through some documents. “We’re just watching lang. He (President Aquino) was just watching the testimony of Heidi Mendoza kasi may pinag-uusapan kami. He would sometimes ask to up the volume of the television," he said. Lacierda said Cabinet officials were also impressed with Mendoza. - with Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMANews.TV