Marines commander may face court martial

Philippine Marines commandant Maj. Gen. Librado Ladia may face court martial proceedings on charges of insubordination after he allegedly threatened to bodily remove a superior from his office for publicly scolding Marine officers.

Fearing a breakdown in discipline within the military ranks of her month-old go-vernment, President Arroyo ordered yesterday the Armed Forces Inspector General to look into the possible court martial of Ladia.

"The Inspector General will investigate what really happened in that dialogue and then we will hear his evaluation and recommendations," Mrs. Arroyo said, referring to the Feb. 15 incident when Navy chief Rear Adm. Guillermo Wong scolded Ladia and other Marine offi-cers in front of their men.

Meanwhile, not only active officers but also retired Marine commandants and a senator are said to be involved in the reported ano-malies in the Marines’ procurement system that were exposed by Wong.

These officers and retirees were also reported to have exerted pressure on Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes to relieve Wong from his post.

In a videotape of Wong’s controversial address before the Marines, the Navy chief mentioned the name of Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, former AFP chief and Marine commandant, as among those involved in the irregularities.

The squabble between the two AFP senior officers has started a disturbing exchange of e-mails among Philippine Military Academy alumni now in various AFP services, The STAR learned yesterday from a ranking Palace official.

"There was a sentiment of possible breakdown of discipline in this case (on) subordinate-superior relations," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"And we cannot allow such a situation to exist and sweep the matter under the rug," he said.

In a prepared statement she read during her weekly press conference at Malacañang yesterday, the President reiterated her directive to Reyes to hold an inquiry on the purchase of alleged substandard helmets and machineguns that have disappeared.

The transaction was said to have been made before the term of Ladia, or during the watch of Marine Lt. Gen. Edgardo Espinosa, who welcomed any investigation into the questionable purchases.

"The Marines welcome the investigation," said Espinosa, who added that Wong has refused to resign because this would make him less a man.

He also denied knowing anything about his reported appointment to the coveted post of the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, reportedly a "consolation" because he was already considered "out of the running" in the race to succeed Reyes.

Espinosa said he would "happily retire" if he does not get the AFP top post.

No whitewash

Mrs. Arroyo assured that there would be no whitewash on the controversy that has led to dissension within the ranks.

"If true, this must stop. There will be no whitewash in the investigation that I have ordered," the President said, adding that the people must be vigilant against graft and corruption.

She also said she was not taking sides in the intramural, but the more immediate concern was the allegation that the purchases were of inferior quality.

"We owe it to our soldiers to provide them with the best equipment money can buy," Mrs. Arroyo said, stressing that whether Wong had violated the cherished tradition of the Marines would have to be decided by Reyes.

Reyes has tossed the issue to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto yesterday formed a panel and ordered graft probers to start their one-month investigation on the alleged scam.

He gave the panel, headed by lawyer Alberto Mislang Jr., until March 30 to finish the probe and submit to him their final report. Other panel members are graft probers Ricardo Sullano, Don Esquivel and Josephine Vargas.

"By Friday, we will know if we will have to proceed with the fact-finding investigation or not... because if the evidence is sufficient, we will proceed immediately into the formal preliminary investigation," Desierto said.

Wong came under fire from the Marines, a unit which is actually under the Navy, after he exposed the seemingly ridiculous purchase of P3.8 million worth of inferior helmets and P7.2 million worth of high powered sub-machineguns, some of which wound up in the hands of gun runners.

"The officers were humiliated and felt the big injustice on their part by their Flag-Officer-in-Command (Wong) when he made his sweeping accusations before the rank and file," said Col. Ben Dolorfino, Marines chief of staff.

The videotape of Wong’s controversial address was shown to media at a press conference yesterday by the Marine Corps to prove that the Navy chief had humiliated them.

"Let it be clarified that the issue is not about the reforms, but on the issue of the leadership style that has caused serious damage to the Marine Corps," Dolorfino added.

Ladia was not at the video preview because the Marine commandant was in Central Mindanao leading civic activities there, his subordinates said.

A ranking military official also said Biazon had allocated at least P10 million from his pork barrel funds to the Marines last year for the purchase of night-vision goggles.

The funding was coursed through the Marines, which promptly proceeded to initiate steps for bidding. But as it turned out, the money should have been coursed through the Navy, the official said.

Because of the procedural lapse, he said, two winning bidders came out as the Navy and the Marines conducted separate biddings.

The official said Wong ordered a further study to determine who should bag the P10 million contract. However, the Navy chief discovered that the two winning bidders, Lemus and Timbol Trading, were both connected to Biazon, the source said.

Lemus allegedly arranged the release of the pork barrel funds while Timbol was said to be trying to snatch the deal from the former company.

"Halatang-halata (It’s too obvious). The differences in the bids are sometimes as low as P200. I want this practice of rigged biddings stopped," Wong said in the videotape.

In the video, Ladia was seen fidgeting in his seat behind Wong while he was making the address.

After the Feb. 15 incident, the Marines Council of Elders drafted a manifesto protesting how Wong had berated them, and even sought an audience with Reyes.

In another development, the militant group Sanlakas picketed yesterday the gates of the AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo to call for a "total cleansing" of the military establishment.

"The military is as corrupt as Erap’s administration and it may turn out to be just as scandalous," said Sanlakas spokeswoman Michelle Licudine, referring to the graft-ridden government of deposed President Joseph Estrada.

During Estrada’s 30 months in office, another AFP anomaly involving retirement benefits was exposed.

The Sanlakas activists brought with them an effigy of a tainted soldier bearing a sack of money – the new symbol, according to them, of the AFP. – With reports from Delon Porcalla, Romel Bagares, Sandy Araneta, Mayen Jaymalin, Jose Aravilla