AFP urged to implement reform program

Manila, Philippines - Senators asked yesterday Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. to ensure that real reforms are put in place in the military.

During resumption of the Senate hearing on military corruption, Sen. Franklin Drilon said the number of military retirees is ballooning and might surpass the number of active military personnel by 2016.

“It is estimated that by the year 2016, we will be paying more pension to our veterans than to our men in the active service,” he said.

“I am raising this question because if we allow this to continue, we can never hope to have substantial allocations for MOOE, modernization of the AFP.

“Concrete reforms (should be) done on our pension situation because really, we cannot keep on pushing this problem to the next chief of the Armed Forces, or next administration… I am certain this will entail a lot of effort and political will to implement reform in this area.”

Drilon also reiterated his concern over the actual number of troops and the approved staffing salary during budget deliberations.

Oban said the AFP is supposedly composed of a total of 129,780 personnel.

This includes 11,954 officers, and 111,114 enlisted personnel, 6,719 Philippine Military Academy cadets, provisionary lieutenants, officer-candidate schools and candidate soldiers.  About 5,000 are civilian employees.

Actually, the military has 128,275 military personnel as of January 2011, Oban said.

Blue Ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said he is ready to issue another interim report and that the Senate will look into proposals to mandate AFP officials to report periodically to the President regarding the actual strength of the military, he added.

Guingona said the committee will determine if a law should be enacted regarding the need to report to the chief executive and how the funds can be managed by the AFP and the Department of Budget and Management for salaries of actual number of troops.

On proposals by Sen. Francis Escudero that the auditing of AFP funds should be handled by the private sector, enough mechanisms are in place for checks and balances regarding the disbursement and audit of the funds, Guingona said. 

Drilon said out of the 2011 AFP budget, over P84 billion were allocated for personal services and the salaries of military and civilian personnel.

Out of P84 billion, about P36 billion is allocated for veterans’ welfare that includes benefits for surviving spouses.

Drilon told Gazmin to go beyond rhetoric when he mentioned that the AFP has been working with a technical working group to study the matter.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he has no reason to doubt the sincerity of the present defense and AFP leaderships instituting of reforms in the military.

He batted for a “real time” number of military personnel through a daily accounting of personnel.

Oban said the AFP now has a management database but it has yet to pursue a “real time accounting” of personnel.

On retirement benefits fund, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano reiterated the need for the Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) to fully liquidate its assets which amounted to P12 billion in total assets.

“I think it is important that this is given a time frame,” he said.

“This has been something of a problem which has been simmering for so long and needed to be addressed.”

Gazmin vowed to give the initial report of their working group before the committee by next week.

Drilon wanted Gazmin to be directly on top of the issue of the pension problem.

“(This is) critical to the finances of the national government,” he said.

“We do not want a situation when we have to sacrifice the many aspects of the budget of the Armed Forces with the burden on pension fund.”

Gazmin outlined the present reforms initiated by the defense department in stopping corruption within the department and the AFP.

“We have created the DND special investigating committee to conduct further investigation on the irregularities and alleged corrupt practices of former high ranking officers,” he said.

Oban said he had conducted three major internal audits: terminal, system or financial of trust receipts and special or unprogramed audit of alleged conversion of funds for petroleum, oil and lubricants.

The budget for petroleum, oil, lubricants from January to March was pegged at P98 million but actual expenses amounted only to P78 million, he added.

Oban said the AFP had effectively removed its discretionary powers over United Nations investment fund, depositing remittances with the Bureau of Treasury. 

A total of P300 million from the UN fund has been deposited to the treasury since his assumption to post, he added. 

Oban said the AFP will continue pursuing reforms with tangible results.

“We will forever strive to be a source of national pride,” he said.

Military points to18 flaws

Armed Forces chief Oban has identified 18 flaws in logistics, finance, personnel, training, discipline, law and order in the military in the past.

“At the onset, we were able to identify financial and logistical flaws... thereafter actions have been produced to address these concerns,” he said.

Upon his assumption to office, Oban’s first order is to put a stop on the alleged widespread graft and corrupt practices.

     Oban said that a blueprint has been crafted from a series of financial and logistics workshops held last month to address these concerns.

“Never in the entire history of our nation has our Armed Forces been so disgraced, as when a survey creates a foregone conclusion by asking respondents whether it is hot or cold during a hot summer day,” he said.

Oban said these blueprints include the AFP financial and logistical reform program to improve the Revolving Fund Utilization, Bids and Awards Committee; Logistics Organization Structure; Disposal Program for Unserviceable Equipment, and Procurement Planning and Programming.

“We admit that our soldiers are deeply hurt by the perception that we belong to the most corrupt government agency,” he said.

Oban said they also cover reforms in the implementation of lease-to-own scheme, AFP purchase card system, logistics support and ordering agreement and reconciliation of the supply accountable office (SAO) and accounting books.

In terms of the AFP’s Procurement System,  a capability buildup has been initiated to cover personnel, training, and automation, he added.

Oban said that his order to bar conversion in the AFP is in effect, a financial scheme.

Internal audits have become more frequent and are being done randomly to ensure the accountability of every office and unit within the military, he added.

Oban said corruption is not merely confined to monetary terms, but this also means living by the values and principles of military institution upholds.

“We will ensure that every man and woman of the AFP shall follow the strictest and highest standards of discipline and honor,” he said.

The AFP under his leadership will be enhancing its capability to enforce relevant policies and as he vowed to prosecute military members found guilty of erring and veering away from the “the straight path,” Oban said.— WIth Jaime Laude