DND forms more committees to probe AFP corruption

A four-man committee formed by the Department of National Defense (DND) has formed four subcommittees that will look more closely into the corruption allegations besetting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The subgroups will look into the alleged missing UN funds intended for Filipino peacekeepers abroad, the military’s allegedly anomalous conversion system, the supposed abuse of personal services, and “other issues" that may be identified through these supposed irregularities, said DND spokesman Eduardo Batac on Wednesday. “This is only the strategy employed by the committee . . . to meet the deadline and to do as much work as possible in terms of investigation. They divided themselves to four committees addressing specific issues," said Batac. Batac said the four members of the DND special investigating committee will each head the subcommittees, which will have at least three members to pursue their tasks. The subcommittees have 10 days starting Friday to come up with their findings. Batac said the special investigation committee, headed by DND office of legal affairs chief Patrick Velez , will hold its pre-investigation in Camp Aguinaldo on Friday. It has 30 days to complete its task and submit a recommendation to DND Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. “These sub-committees will look into specific issues which involve the issuance of alleged slush funds to chief of staff at time of these alleged committed abuses," Batac said. No sacred cows Batac said the instruction of Gazmin to the DND special investigating committee is, “if there are offenses uncovered, these offenses are going to be pursued relentlessly and nobody is going to be spared which means the guidance is let the axe fall where it will fall." Batac said the pre-investigation conference will kick off with a presentation by AFP Resource Management Office chief Maj. Gen. Pedro Soria of the reforms undertaken after the corruption controversy involving former AFP comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia hit the headlines in 2003. “They adopted the certain reforms so they will show a flow chart prior to reforms and flow chart after the reforms," said Batac. Batac said Garcia — along with former AFP budget officer Lt. Col. George Rabusa, who accused several former AFP chiefs of staff of receiving millions of pesos in payoffs — will be invited to the investigation. Former AFP chiefs accused of wrongdoing may also be invited to shed light on the accusations hurled against them, Batac said. Senate probe resumes Thursday Meanwhile, the Senate blue ribbon committee will continue on Thursday its investigation on the alleged corruption in the military and the instances surrounding the controversial plea bargaining agreement between Garcia and the Office of the Ombudsman. “We will continue tomorrow with the testimony of Rabusa, but we will also try to . . . divide the issue between the plea bargain, and the alleged military corruption," committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said Wednesday. Guingona said they have invited Rabusa’s former subordinate Col. Antonio “Sonny" Lim to the hearing, as well as former AFP chiefs Dionisio Santiago, Diomedio Villanueva, and Roy Cimatu, who all allegedly received payoffs while in service. Guingona said Rabusa’s claims were boosted by the statements of former state auditor Heidi Mendoza at the House committee on justice hearing last Tuesday. “It’s circumstantial and it connects. They substantiate each other," he said. Mendoza, who headed a team that conducted a financial audit of the AFP in 2004, said some P270 million of military funds representing reimbursements from the UN are missing. Morale Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday said the alleged corruption in the AFP is bound to affect the morale of the soldiers on the field. “That will bring about a problem of morale in the Armed Forces. If an ordinary soldier will hear a thing like that, he will feel bad," he told reporters in a separate interview. “We should be very careful that the rank-and-file in the military will not be disillusioned and disaffected. It is the duty of the leaders of this country to see to it that we address this problem," he added. Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, for his part, assured the soldiers that the scandal would not affect their yearly allocation. “These revelations on the ‘generosity’ of some high rank military officers in rewarding not only their peers but even themselves of additional benefits, should not put us off in addressing the concerns of thousands of our lowly soldiers," he said in a statement. He also suggested that lawmakers review the salary structure of the rank-and-file and junior officers in comparison with that of the senior military officials’. “We shouldn’t lose track of the fact that soldiers, to this day, remain ill-equipped and underpaid. I still believe that there are only but few rotten eggs in the military that we must get rid off," he said. - with Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV