What is the AFP scam senate hearings all about?

Many have been wondering what the Armed Forces of the Philippines Fund Scam all about. The Congress had hearings on them, specifically on the plea bargaining deal between the Ombudsman and former AFP comptroller General Carlos Garcia and the Senate also had their own hearings which centered on General Ligot. What is the issue?

The issue is conversion. This will be threshed out later as we go on. In government, all funds are designated for a specific use and purpose. They are proposed by the different departments and then submitted to congress for approval. The consolidated budget of the government offices represent the budget for a specific year. Each Department of government, say the AFP, goes to congress to defend their budget in front of the appropriations committee where congressmen either approve the submitted budget, reduce it or sometimes increase it with some congressional insertions (projects which the congressmen proposed themselves with a specific budget).

Once a budget is approved, this is released to the AFP by the Department of Budget Management. The releases of the funds are based on a schedule and based on the purpose that it was intended for like personnel salaries, maintenance and operating expenses (for gasoline, electricity, transportation, repair etc.), capital outlay (for buying equipment or properties), intelligence funds (apart from the AFP, other Departments have these too, Projects and activities and other inputs which are called line items of the budget. If something is not in the budget, the Department cannot use the funds earmarked for specific entries for another item. To make it simple, everybody is given a wish list and are allowed to put an amount on them like apple 10 pesos, 10 pcs = 100 pesos or pencil 5 pesos x 20 pcs. = 100 pesos. When congress says ok to this, one cannot buy 11 apples or 21 pencils because the extra pencil and apple are not in the budget. Buying only 5 apples and using the remainder to buy additional pencils is also not allowed unless sufficiently justified to the DBM and an approval is given to re-align the approved budget for purposes of expediency. Now if you buy 3 oranges and 2 ballpens which are not in the budget and you used the funds for the apples and pencils to buy these, that is a form of conversion. In essence you used the funds slated for a specific item, did not buy that item as you declared in congress and used the funds for other purposes. In the case of the AFP, they used the funds that were meant for salaries, deposited them in long term accounts and used the interest as allowances of the generals. To a greater extent, funds that were intended for the modernization of the AFP to buy modern jets, faster ships and better tanks, were converted for the trips of the generals and those of whom who are the operators like Colonel George Rabusa and the whole of the J6 staff.

As indicated by newer witnesses who are part of the cabal of Rabusa, they freely admitted that this practice has been ongoing for many years and that each of those involved get a cut including the resident auditors of the Commission on Audit to a lesser degree.

This does not happen in the AFP alone. It happens in many other government offices with the exception that in the AFP, it was grossly greedy and unrepentantly initiated by so many officers and civilian personnel.

Looking into what Garcia, Ligot, Rabusa and the Euro Generals have amassed, we can say that a big part of the modernization budget, intelligence funds and UN funds were rampantly misused and converted for personal use and enrichment.

Congressmen and Senators are guilty of this conversion practice as well but these are not revealed in the press. Only the COA provides oversight for how the citizens funds are used by Congressmen and Senators as the executive branch has no oversight on the legislative branch of government. How then is conversion done in congress or the senate. It is in fact easier because of the PDAF or Pork Barrels which each congressman and Senator is entitled to every year for their own pet projects and advocacies. There are times when projects are ghost projects and the funds destined for them are used for personal means such as the purchase of cars and trips abroad or even shopping. Funds are also converted by the congressmen or senators through their own suppliers in their respective provinces. A project is declared by a congressman, funds are paid to the supplier and the supplier does not undertake the project or does not follow the standards and returns part of the funds to the congressman or the senator.

Conversion to put it simply, is corruption. This practice is replete in the Philippine government, no matter what the department or high or low the office is. That is why our ADOBO or National Progress always seem to lack an ingredient and very few of the citizens can partake of it. As one PR practitioner put it, palaging matabang (always bland) no matter who cooks it! Why? One ingredient is lacking and its funds were converted for Chicharon! Right Mr. President?

Angelo Reyes’ death by publicity, the demise of a general.

Senator Gringo Honasan may have hit the nail head squarely when he said earlier today that and I quote: “Maybe we should have executive sessions to protect the reputation of resource persons and witnesses”. This in reaction to the sudden and untimely death of General Angelo Reyes who had in the previous day saw how Jinggoy Estrada lambasted and cajoled General Ligot in trying to pin alleged corruption charges on the wife of General Reyes.

We should not forget that Jinggoy Estrada, the son of convicted and pardoned former President Estrada who was charged and found guilty of plunder has had Reyes in his sights for many years. Apparently Jinggoy has not forgotten how they lost power when the former Chief of Staff turned against the President by pulling out his support from ERAP and shifting to GMA. This led to the immediate downfall and subsequent overthrow of his father. Jinggoy worked doubly hard to look for evidence to connect Reyes to another plunderer General Garcia in light of the plea bargain controversy now besetting the nation.

In another instance, neophyte junior Senator Trillanes went about insulting Reyes who was invited as a resource person again during the hearings on the plea bargain of General Garcia.

It is very apparent that Philippine Senators and Congressmen have no regard for the reputation of their resource persons or witnesses! These so called gentlemen and erstwhile leaders hide behind their immunity from suit in a very arrogant display of candor. In doing so, they verbally abuse and libelously insult guests to hearings that are “in aid of legislation”. Yes! IN AID OF LEGISLATION! Just a week ago Miriam Defensor called a lawyer an amoeba!

Today a man took his own life because his reputation was besmirched. He was insulted publicly and his honor sullied. His family was dragged into a corruption case. Accusations and allegations were hurled. From who? Colonel Rabusa who he himself admitted that he was in collusion with the AFP comptroller General Garcia in stealing public funds. Heidi Mendoza who may be telling the truth, but apparently only from her perspective because slowly the truth is coming out that the 200 million pesos was not missing after all as found out during the congressional inquiry today based on the statement of Gilda Pico of Landbank and a resource person from the UCPB. At most, what may have occurred is that someone made off with the interest from the 50 million pesos that was placed in the long term deposit account in UCPB.

General Reyes may have had no recourse in taking his own life as in the eyes of the public, he was already tried and found guilty. The weight of negative public opinion created by the unsubstantiated accusations and mere allegations made to look like gospel truth made a damaging effect. Negative publicity, unlike that of a court case can seldom be reversed. For General Angelo Reyes, it was probably too much to bear in seeing his family being slowly dragged into a publicity stunt that Senators are using to earn their brownie points and votes.

What was absurd was Jinggoy grilling accused visitors to the Senate on corruption! He is arguably the least credible person to do so in light of his close family association with a CONVICTED plunderer. This in the guise of conducting hearings “in aid of legislation”. How many laws have been enacted as a result of “hearings in aid of legislation”?

If the Senate and Congress are truly august bodies deserving the respect of the Filipino people, then they must refrain from conducting these publicity stunts and afford the respect that are due to citizens of this nation. They should inhibit themselves from creating spectacles that inevitably destroy reputations.

Senator Honasan is on the right track in his suggestion. But how long will it take before the Senate and the Lower House realize that people they invite are innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. I guess publicity is more important to them in order to show that the funds given them are well spent.

Today a man took his own life! It was not suicide, it was death by publicity!