Aquino vows to go after prosecutors in AFP fund mess

President Benigno Aquino III on Saturday vowed to go after not only the officials involved in “pabaon" (send-off money) and other irregular transactions in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but also the prosecutors who allowed them to escape punishment. Aquino made the vow at the annual alumni homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy, whose image he said has been sullied because some of its graduates have been linked to the alleged irregularities in the use of military funds.

"Kaya naman iimbestigahan po natin kung paano masasampahan hindi lang po ang mga tinutukoy ngayon ng [imbestigasyon] kundi pati po ang mga kakuntsaba nila kasama na po ang mga prosecutor na kasangkot sa Garcia plea bargaining agreement," Aquino said. (We will investigate how we will file charges not only against the officials involved in the mess but also their protectors – including the prosecutors involved in the Garcia plea bargaining agreement.) “Once we unmask the military officials involved in the mess, I am sure they had protectors who have committed a bigger sin against the people," he added. The fund mess stemmed from congressional investigations into a plea bargaining agreement that allowed retired AFP comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia to go free despite a P300-million plunder case. “Malinaw naman po ang punto natin. Kung may nagawang mali at may sapat na ebidensya upang patunayan ito, tungkulin nating sampahan ng kaso ang kinauukulan. Bahagi ng mandato nating itaguyod ang interest ng taumbayan. Ngayon kung di natin magawa ng tama ang obligasyon na ito, may kakulangan tayo sa taumbayan," he said. (My point is clear. Those who did wrong must pay for their actions, especially if there is evidence against them. It is our mandate to uphold the interest of the people. If we fail to do so, we will have shortchanged our people.) During the Congressional investigations, witnesses testified on pabaon and other questionable transactions involving ranking officers of the AFP. Aquino rejected the claims of the prosecutors during Friday’s Senate hearing into the matter that they could not remember this or that transaction. “Pati ho sila [prosecutors] ulyanin na. Wala raw ho natanggap na information, 'di raw po nila alam ang kanilang iniimbestigahan, kawawa naman ang bayan natin (Prosecutors are getting senile. They cannot remember this or that. If this is the case, we deserve to be pitied as a people)," he said. He noted, however, that the prosecutors who keep claiming they cannot recall or they cannot remember many things during the Senate probe are not old enough to be senile. PMA ‘dragged’ into the mess Aquino reiterated his full support for the ongoing investigation into the controversy, saying it was unfair for the majority of PMA alumni who have followed the straight path. The officers in the AFP and many in the Philippine National Police are from the ranks of the PMA. “I will not beat around the bush. The ranks of the PMA has been dragged into this mess. As commander-in-chief, I feel you are affected and this is no joke. I know most of you still live by the virtues of courage, integrity and loyalty)," Aquino said in Filipino. He said he knows that most of the PMA cavaliers are victims of AFP mess and want to find out the truth. "We are one in this fight," he said adding that the investigation is a chance for the government to "set right a wrong." “Kung makikisama kayo sa mga ilan na gustong ibalik ang bayan natin sa dating bulok na sistema, ano po ang mangyayari sa atin? Kung puro paglalabag sa kapwa ang nangyayari baka naman pulutin tayong lahat 'di lang sa kangkungan baka pati sa ilalim ng kangkungan pa, di po ba? Sana huwag na po. May pagkakataon tayo," he said. (If you will join those who want to return to the old ways, what will happen to us? The country not just be at the bottom of the heap, we may even sink much deeper. This is our chance to make things right.) Ligot plunder In Malacañang, deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the Palace is leaving it to the Office of the Ombudsman to file charges against another former AFP comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot. At Friday's Senate hearing, Sen. Franklin Drilon said Ligot should have been facing plunder charges because a “staggering" P740 million was placed under his personal account. [See related: Jinggoy eyes Ligot plunder rap for homes, bank deposits] “Sa Office of the Ombudsman manggaling ang ganyang initiative (That initiative should come from the Office of the Ombudsman). There are certain intricacies of the law you have to follow," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. She also said prosecutors who may have allowed Garcia to get away must remember their priority is to the people and not to a few. “It seems some prosecutors forget who they should defend, the people or a select few. Being a lawyer myself I know prosecutors should uphold the interests of the people and not a select few," she said. — LBG, GMA News