AFP refuses to submit roster to Congress

2 MIN READ

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — During the budget deliberation in Congress, the Commission on Audit (COA) reported that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) refused to submit their roster and personnel listing.

According to the representatives of COA, they were told that the said submission violates national security.

On the other hand, Bayan Muna Partylist representative Neri Colmenares made comment that this is a shocking revelation and is a violation of COA’s constitutional mandate to audit the funds of the Department of National Defense.  

It is stated in its audit mandate, the authority of the agency emanates from the Constitution of the Philippines. COA is a constitutional body whose jurisdiction extends to all subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities of the Government, including all government-owned or controlled corporations, self-governing boards and commissions.

Colmenares said that while other countries submit their roster to their auditing bodies, the Philippine COA cannot even check if the supposed number of troops of the AFP actually exists.

The lawmaker said that this practice only allows “ghost” soldiers inside the AFP and the conversion exposed by retired Col. George Rabusa who served as AFP budget officer from 2000 to 2002.

According to the expose made by Rabusa during the senate hearings in the early part of the year, the AFP has added ghost soldiers to its troops by 20 percent for years. Rabusa revealed that the budget for the salaries of “ghost” soldiers was a source of the “pabaons” to retiring generals. Rabusa said that it is the tradition of the AFP to give a “welcome” gift to newly installed AFP Chiefs of Staff and send-off money upon retirement.

On February 8 of this year, former AFP chief of staff Angelo Reyes who at the time was being grilled at the senate hearings on alleged AFP corruption committed suicide.

Colmenares said, the AFP that aside from presenting the true statistics of their troops, they should also present how much the so-called rebel returnees are actually receiving. “The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) integrees were supposedly given P18,000 a month each in 2002-2003 and Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) integrees were allocated P13,400 a month each. The salary of a regular soldier is below P10,000”, he specified.

Colmenares expressed amusement that the salary of an integree is double that of a regular soldier.

Did the MNLF integrees really receive the P18, 000 a month or was it subjected to conversion?” Colmenares asked.

Colmenares said that during the budget hearing, COA agreed to the proposal of a comprehensive and complete audit report of the entire budget in addition to the separate reports of each agency and departments. From which he said that this will be a major change in auditing of the budget and will promote transparency that will also root out corruption and eradicate “ghost employees”. # nordis.net