MANILA, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 (TRIBUNE) New administrations can easily claim that reforms in the military and elsewhere in government are being undertaken, mainly because, in these particular "bombshells" being dropped today in the Senate on the massive corrupt practices in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, delve only on such practices under the previous administration of former President Gloria Arroyo, and the AFP chiefs of staff (CoS) then — and only when retired Col. George Rabusa was budget officer while Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and Brig. Gen. Jacinto Ligot were the comptrollers.
It is not likely that other military whistleblowers will surface and rat on their former AFP chiefs.
At this point in the Senate investigation, no other AFP CoS has been linked to the military "slush fund" even when it is pretty certain that they too, were into this practice — which probably existed long before Angie Reyes was appointed CoS, and long after their successors took over, no matter one CoS' claim that during his time, the office of the comptroller had been abolished, with several units taking its place.
Yet it is impossible, if not improbable, that the corruption in the military — which apparently included not just pasalubongs and pabaons for the CoS, along with kickbacks in commissions and overpricing of defense and military contracts, but also in funding the wives of military generals for their travels and pocket money --- is gone even with a new administration in place.
That the corrupt activities would go slow for the meantime is expected, as the corrupt will lie low, with the scandal out in the open today, but that it will speed up again after the "bombshells" die down, is also predicted.
It would be no different from the jueteng issue. When jueteng became the issue in congressional hearings, all of sudden, the jueteng business slowed down, but these days, jueteng is flourishing again, and there has been nothing done to stop it, by way of the Noynoy administration, that incidentally has said many times that eradicating jueteng is not Noynoy's priority.
What guarantee therefore is there from the incumbent government and its agency heads that corrupt practices and opaqueness now belong to the past, since such "discoveries" of massive corruption come about only after an administration exits and a new one replaces it?
It is being claimed by the Aquino AFP and the administration's defense leadership that reforms are today being instituted to finally do away with the corruption in the military. But didn't one AFP CoS, Narciso Abaya, along with all the other CoS who followed him, claim in a recent hearing in the House of Representatives,claim that this pasalubong and pabaon practice no longer exists, and that since the comptrollers office has been broken up, none of these corrupt practices exist today? Even incumbent CoS Ricardo David claimed the same.
But there are so many ways to skin a corrupt cat, and no matter how many units will be broken up, there would still be ways and means for the government and its military to "produce" whatever funds are needed for the generals, their wives and even mistresses, whether through pabaons for the outgoing chiefs of staff or extra funds for the generals' wives.
But if, as claimed that the corrupt practices have been cut off at least five years or so ago, why then are the defense and military leaderships claiming that reforms under the new administration, are underway, if such "reforms" instituted then already eliminated such practices?
What it can only mean — going by the usual military practice of handing out money to auditors and even the inspector-generals, is that this corruption in the military continues to exist, and until a new administration takes over, the policy of omerta will still reign — at least on the corrupt activities in the Aquino administration and its armed forces.
It doesn't help either, by way of congressional inquiries, that there always exists the reluctance om the part of the Malacañang allies in Congress, not to touch such cases that occur in a new administration, which is the reason Filipinos only discover long after that they have again be screwed.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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