Ombudsman dismisses charges vs retired AFP general

The Office of the Ombudsman has dropped criminal charges against a retired military official over alleged anomalies he committed almost two decades ago.

Lack of ample evidence and witnesses prompted government prosecutors to dismiss the complaint against retired Brig. Gen. Napoleon Angeles, former commanding officer of the Armed Forces’ Western Command.

Both Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio and Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez approved the recommendation of assistant special prosecutor I Elita Santos for the dropping of the charges against Angeles last Sept. 18.

Santos said the cases against Angeles “cannot stand trial as the evidence on file will not be sufficient to successfully prosecute the cases.”

Santos added that the prosecution “does not even have witnesses who can testify on the subject matter being litigated” and that “no records can be found since the incident happened in 1989 and (the) officers involved were either retired or cannot be located.”

Angeles, who retired from the military service on April 1, 1990, was implicated in alleged smuggling, payroll anomalies, questionable disposal of government properties at bargain prices, and use of fuel allocations for personal purposes.

In 1989, the Philippine Navy investigated Angeles based on media reports and complaints by anonymous military officers that he had allegedly engaged in smuggling using two refurbished Vietnamese boats.

Then Navy Capt. Nicasio Blancas submitted a special report dated Feb. 12, 1990.

The AFP-Office of the Inspector General also conducted its own investigation.

In a report dated Sept. 26, 1990, then AFP Inspector General Brig. Gen. Jose Cesar Capa forwarded the case to the Ombudsman.

The prosecutor handling the case revealed that Malacañang might have had a hand in hiding evidence against Angeles, quoting Col. Santiago Medrano, the AFP Adjutant General.

Medrano was the commander of the PAF’s 570th Composite Tactical Wing based at the Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan when the alleged anomalies were supposed to have been committed between July 1989 and January 1990.

Santos said Medrano “intimated that the Kalayaan Island at the time is a confidential matter wherein orders came directly from Malacañang… because of security measures.”

“This may be the reason why accused Angeles was exonerated by the AFP, that OJAG had no records on file and that the Adjutant General did not disclose the records of persons directly knowledgeable in this case,” Santos added.      – Edu Punay