Air Force to take disgruntled colonel into custody

A disgruntled Philippine Air Force colonel who aired complaints about military officials at a news conference will be taken into custody and possibly charged for giving interviews without permission, the Air Force said yesterday.

In a news conference in a Manila hotel earlier Tuesday, Col. Efren Daquil accused Air Force officials of involvement in financial irregularities and favoritism in promotions.

Daquil, former deputy commander of the 710th Special Operations Wing, said he was relieved as deputy commander of the air force’s special operations wing last month after he was linked to a possible coup against President Arroyo. He denied involvement in any planned uprising.

Daquil, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class ’76, said he was approached by junior and senior military officers to join a coup last year, but said he declined. Rumors of a coup have persisted since 2004, when Arroyo was accused of corruption and rigging that year’s presidential election.

"This is more peaceful than joining them," Daquil said, referring to his news conference.

Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla said Daquil violated military regulations by not raising his allegations before a grievance office and giving interviews to the media without permission.

Daquil, who is on leave, would be restricted to military quarters, investigated and possibly charged for violating two Articles of War, specifically conduct unbecoming of an officer, according to Padilla.

"If truth is unbecoming, then I’m willing to be jailed," Daquil said.

Daquil alleged that when he was the Air Force’s personnel chief in 2004, about P30 million in savings was taken from his office and used by Air Force officials who did not explain where the money went.

"I am not accusing (Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Jose Reyes) of corruption. I just wanted him to explain where the P30 million went," he said.

But Padilla said the funds were properly returned to the Department of Budget and were used to buy uniforms and boots for soldiers.

Daquil said complaints of favoritism are common in the promotion of officers, an allegation also disputed by Padilla.

Padilla also said Daquil could just be sour graping because he failed to get promoted to wing commander.

Daquil is the latest in a line of military officers who brought complaints about the military before journalists, then were charged and detained.

The 117,000-strong military has been struggling against restiveness and has a recent history of uprisings. It played key roles in the ouster of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and President Joseph Estrada in 2001. — AP, Jaime Laude