No 'pabaon' under my watch says new AFP auditor

MANILA, Philippines - The new auditor of the military on Monday assured the public that there would be no "pabaon" or illegal conversion of funds during his watch.

Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr., chief of the Armed Forces Office of the Internal Auditor, said he would make sure that the military’s resources are used properly.

“We have to look into it so that we can determine if they (resources) are in the right track or if they’re performing well in line with the security sector reform,” Tutaan said.

He added that the objective is to ensure the “judicious and prudent use of resources.”

Tutaan, who is also the spokesman of the military, said his office would conduct surprise audits when necessary.

“Other audits will be undertaken on special cases,” he said.

Tutaan said there would be no sacred cows in his drive to look into the transactions of military offices.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) image has been tainted with corruption after former military budget officer George Rabusa had claimed in 2011 that some generals got huge sums upon retirement.

He said the giving of send-off money or “pabaon” to top officials is part of a tradition.

Military funds intended for other purposes were reportedly converted to cash gifts for ranking officials

During the height of the controversy, survey firm Pulse Asia released a survey which showed that almost half of Filipinos view the AFP as an institution where corruption is most prevalent.

The AFP has repeatedly claimed that reforms have been undertaken to insulate its financial and procurement systems from irregularities.

Among the measures that have been suggested to address fund misuse are the signing of a military logistics support and ordering agreement; using purchase card to avoid carrying too much cash and improving the AFP disposal program for unserviceable equipment and reimbursable fund operations. – with  Catalina Madarang