Palace welcomes UN assistance on fund malversation probe

Malacañang is keen on requesting the United Nations to help in the investigation on the alleged malversation of funds intended for Filipino troops in East Timor allegedly by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “As you know, we are passionate about our anti-corruption promise and this is part of our commitment to see to the bottom of the whole anti-corruption allegations in the military . . . So, yes, we intend to ask for request to the UN," said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda at a press briefing Tuesday. He said UN’s assistance “will be good for us to determine what happened to the UN peacekeeping funds." In a statement released on the same day, UN National Information Officer Teresa Debuque said that while the alleged diversion of UN funds is a national matter, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations assured that the UN “will assist if requested" by the Philippine government. Lacierda said they learned of the supposed malversation of peacekeeping funds through the testimony of former government auditor Heidi Mendoza, who told a congressional inquiry that UN funds have become sources of ill-gotten wealth by several corrupt military officials. The Palace official said they would be “more than happy with the cooperation of UN to provide us with all the necessary avenues to determine where the diversion happened." Lacierda also said during the same briefing that there is no timeline for the government to disclose who the supposed backer of alleged plunderer Carlos Garcia, a former military comptroller, is. “Walang timeline po iyan (There’s no timeline), but let me state it is a prerogative for us to go against all these corruption allegations. All those who have put the system—who have enriched themselves with impunity while being public officials. This is something that we will not let go," he said. He said what President Benigno Aquino III has as of now are just “ideas" regarding the alleged powerful personality behind Garcia, who is accused of amassing more than P300 million in ill-gotten wealth while still in military service. “That’s the reason why he also emphasized the need to gather evidence and to collate all these evidences before we file the necessary case against a particular individual," Lacierda said. Lacierda, meanwhile, asked Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares to furnish the government evidence to back his claims that almost P180 billion had been "siphoned" from the Department of National Defense (DND) budget during the past nine years. “Certainly there’s evidence to that effect. In fact, the DND is undergoing, undertaking investigation also, but those are allegations and if Rep. Colmenares can furnish DND with these evidences then it would expedite the whole process of investigation," he said. He also asked for evidence to prove allegations that corruption is also rampant in the Philippine National Police (PNP). - KBK, GMA News