Ex-PNP chief, 22 others face raps for P400-M ‘ghost’ tank repairs

MANILA, Philippines - Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the filing of criminal charges yesterday against former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Avelino Razon Jr. and 22 others for their alleged involvement in the reportedly anomalous repair and maintenance of 28 V-150 Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs), which cost the government P400 million in 2007.

They will be charged with violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Government Procurement Reform Act, and malversation of public funds through falsification of documents.

Paper trail

Investigators from the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices reported that on Aug. 14, 2007, then PNP chief Oscar Calderon initiated a request for the repair and refurbishing of 10 V-150 LAVs in connection with the PNP Special Action Force’s capacity buildup program for P275,365,000 but Razon later requested a supplemental budget for the repair and refurbishing of 18 more LAVs.

The charges alleged that there were irregularities in the “bidding process, awarding of contracts and utilization of funds intended for the repair and refurbishment of 28 V-150s of the PNP.”

The anti-graft agency’s joint resolution stated that the “public respondents circumvented the provisions of the procurement law to take private firms Serpenair, Enviro-Aire, Evans, RJP, Dex-Lan and RKGK Enterprises as the direct suppliers.”

According to the Office of the Ombudsman, the 23 respondents were linked to four transactions that had these characteristics in common: there were anomalies in the bidding process; the biddings were published in a newspaper that is not generally circulated; the services and goods were paid for even before they were delivered; and the private respondents involved suppliers and an editor of the newspaper.

The four transactions include the questionable purchase of 40 tires, the initial request for the repair of 10 LAVs, a subsequent request for the repair of 18 more of the LAVs, and the disbursement and expenditure of the PNP’s transportation and delivery expenses corresponding to its V-150 LAVs.

Naming names

In a 108-page joint resolution, among those who will be charged with Razon are Teodorido Lapuz IV, Emmanuel Ojeda, Reuel Leverne Labrado, Annalee Forro, Edgar Paatan, Henry Duque and Victor Puddao, all members of the Logistics Supports Services – Bids and Awards Committee (LSS-BAC); Josefina Dumanew, purchasing officer; Antonio Retrato, accounting division chief; Warlito Tubon, LSS inspection officer; Geary Barias, former director for comptrollership; Alex Barameda, property inspector; Eulito Fuentes, supply accountable officer; Rainier Espina, acting chief of the PNP management division; Alfredo Lavina, LSS; Maria Teresa Narcise, Nancy Basallo and Patricia Enaje, property inspectors; Eliseo dela Paz, former director for comptrollership; Victor Agarcio, LSS; Reynaldo Varilla and Charlemagne Alejandrino, both of the PNP national headquarters’ BAC; private individuals Oscar Madamba,  Harold and Tyrone Ong, Pamela Pensotes, Evangeline Bais, Artemio Zuniga, Gigie Marpa, Marianne Jimenez, Rasita Zaballero, and Carmencita Salvador.

Morales also ordered Forro, Paatan, Duque, Dumanew, Barrameda, Espina, Enaje, Narcise, Basallo and Commission on Audit (COA) supervising auditor Jaime Serrano dismissed from government service or fined an amount equivalent to one year’s salary with forfeiture of all benefits and perpetual disqualification to hold public office.

COA technical audit specialist Amor Quiambao was also suspended for six months without pay for administrative offenses.

Morales dismissed the cases filed against Ray Roderos and Mario Sandiego of the PNP; Quiambao; and private individuals Mylene Belardo, Arnaldo Talens and Fred Salazar for graft, procument law violations, and plunder, among others, for lack of probable cause.