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?
San Lorenzo Village Monitor 