Navy chief retires early amid squabbling in AFP

Rear Adm. Guillermo Wong retired as Navy flag officer-in-command yesterday following reports of a rift within the military leadership because of jockeying for the post of Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes.

Reyes is scheduled to step down on March 17 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56.

Wong told The STAR in an interview yesterday he chose to take early retirement effective March 1, eight months ahead of schedule, because he was about to be transferred from Navy commander to a lower post.

"My conscience is clear," he said. "I want to stay "as Navy flag officer-in-command) but they’re (Board of Generals) forcing me to retire. I guess it is the honorable thing to do. They left me out in the cold."

Wong said he is "puzzled" why Reyes decided to "demote" him to chief of the newly formed Northern Luzon Command instead of investigating reported anomalies in the Marine Corps.

"He (Reyes) told me that this (demotion) is the best solution," he said. "But I said the best solution, at least, is to replace the Marine commandant, (Gen. Librado Ladia)."

Military officials The STAR yesterday Wong was being transferred because he angered Marine officers by questioning alleged irregularities in their procurement system.

Wong said the decision to remove him is in effect a coverup of the reported multimillion-peso irregularity in the procurement system of the Marine Corps.

"The best credibility lies on being honest and truthful," he said. "Why am I the one who’s being sacked?" he asked. "I’m the one who has the moral ascendancy. They can look at my finances. I’m not rich."

Wong refused to give details of the anomalies, saying that he has already submitted the documents to Reyes and that he is still gathering enough evidence.

"The covering up of the paper trail is very good, so it only means the collusion is widespread," he said.

Sources at Camp Aguinaldo told The STAR yesterday the reported anomalies include the missing P7.2 million worth of Heckler & Koch submachine guns and the procurement of substandard Kevlar helmets for the Marines. – Paolo Romero