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AFP logistics deputy removed on alleged fuel supply scandal


(Updated 5:54 p.m.) A ranking military official has been relieved of his post pending an investigation into alleged irregularities in transactions involving the the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) fuel and lubricants supply management. Commodore Teddy Pan, the AFP deputy chief of staff for logistics, was relieved of his post to ensure fairness in the investigation by a team of the military’s Judge Advocate General, AFP Internal Auditor and Provost Marshal General. “It is an accepted practice in the military establishment to relieve the commander of the unit or office being investigated in order to pave the way for an impartial and honest investigation," said AFP public information office chief Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos on Thursday. Pan’s office has been recorded to have distributed and consumed P400 million in petroleum and lubricants for military units from January to March 15 this year, an amount way above the AFP’s authorized P150 million for one quarter. The amount gave rise to suspicions that the military has resorted to the illegal “conversion" scheme to generate funds as "pabaon" or going-away gift for now former AFP chief Gen. Ricardo David, who retired last March 7. The 130,000-member AFP has been struggling to improve their image after lawmakers uncovered large-scale graft involving some retired generals who were found to have acquired assets using military funds. A number of former AFP chiefs had been accused of receiving send-off money upon retirement. The accusation was made by former AFP budget officer Lt. Col. George Rabusa, who had filed plunder charges against these officials. Rabusa's disclosure resulted in the AFP being considered as the most corrupt government agency by most of the respondents in a recent Pulse Asia survey. The relief of Pan was announced two days after Department of National Defense spokesman Eduardo Batac disclosed that there seem to be no irregularity in the management of the petroleum and lubricants supply based on the initial results of the investigation. “All indications seems to show that there are no discrepancies as far as the transactions are concerned. I’ve seen the figures for the first quarter. There is an allocation of P108 but the issuances were only about P80 million," Batac said in an interview on Tuesday. “There is even a balance, so I don’t know where that P400 million is coming from," he added. The recent scandals in the military have affected the morale of soldiers fighting two long-running insurgencies that have killed 160,000 people, displaced 2 million and stunted growth in this poor but resource-rich Southeast Asian nation. Last month, the army was also grappling against a human rights furor after a video was posted on the Internet showing half-naked cadets being beaten with sticks during drills. The 10-month government of President Benigno Aquino III has put more emphasis on fighting corruption in his medium-term agenda to implement reforms and cut poverty. - with Reuters/KBK/VS, GMA News
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