A picture that has emerged from the testimonies in Congress about corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines is the lack of oversight on military finances. As related by former AFP budget officer Lt. Col. George Rabusa, with additional details provided yesterday by former government auditor Heidi Mendoza, a handful of officers had full control over the utilization of huge amounts intended for the military. In the absence of transparency requirements and a system of checks and balances, the line between public and personal funds became blurred for certain officers.
At the House hearing on the plea deal being sought by former military comptroller Carlos Garcia, several retired AFP chiefs declared yesterday they never received any pabaon or sendoff gift, welcome money or monthly goodwill funds. Those who issued the denial were retired Generals Narciso Abaya, Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Dionisio Santiago, Generoso Senga and Alexander Yano. The public is still waiting for similar statements from former AFP chiefs Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu, who also allegedly received P10 million each as welcome money.
The statement was issued as the retired chiefs of staff felt they were also being tarnished by Rabusa’s allegations that he gave P50 million in cash, converted into dollars, to Angelo Reyes as a retirement sendoff. The going-away gifts had become a tradition in the AFP, Rabusa testified. At the House hearing, Mendoza indicated that certain banks also allowed themselves to become part of the illegal tradition, looking the other way in the face of possible money laundering by big-ticket clients such as the AFP.
Mendoza, now under the Witness Protection Program, said the bank records and other pieces of evidence she obtained against Garcia were ignored by her superiors led by the chief government auditor at the time, Guillermo Carague. The Commission on Audit needs to conduct a housecleaning. Even more urgent is the housecleaning needed in the AFP, particularly in its budgeting process.
The testimonies provided so far by Rabusa and Mendoza have shown how millions of pesos in AFP funds can be diverted to personal bank accounts. These loopholes must be plugged and the budget process overhauled to ensure that funds released to the AFP are used for their intended purposes.