Ex-AFP chiefs deny getting 'pasalubong, pabaon'

MANILA, Philippines -  Five former Armed Forces chiefs yesterday denied having received “sendoff” cash gifts after their retirement.

The retired generals also insisted that they have implemented reform programs in the effort to reduce corruption in the military.

Former Armed Forces chiefs Narciso Abaya, Hermogenes Esperon, Dionisio Santiago, Generoso Senga and Alexander Yano made the denial, as they appeared at the House of Representatives to testify on the controversial plea bargaining agreement between government prosecutors and former military comptroller Carlos Garcia.

Former executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, who served as Armed Forces vice chief also appeared before the House panel.

Former Army Lt. Col. George Rabusa, the budget officer who served under Garcia, earlier testified before a Senate hearing that former Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes and some of his successors were recipients of the “pabaon” gifts upon their retirement. Rabusa said the giving of huge cash gifts has been a tradition in the military for retiring generals.

Abaya, who served as chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from April 2003 to October 2004, said the “pabaon” system could not be possible since the military organization was on a “reform and upgrading mode” during his term.

“I did not receive any welcome gift. I did not receive any monthly (payola), neither did I get any sendoff gift,” Abaya told the House Justice committee.

Santiago, AFP chief from November 2002 to April 2003, said any extra money he had is from the family income.

He claimed his family even went into the garments business to augment their income.

“Me and my wife are jetsetters because one of my children works in Northwest Airlines, so when we travel we are in business class,” he added.

Yano, who lead the AFP for a year from May 2008, admitted traveling abroad with his wife a few times during his tenure.

But the travels were all part of his duties and the host countries that invited him had shouldered most of the expenses.

Esperon also denied the allegations, saying by the time he was AFP chief from July 2006 to January 2008, the military began implementing reforms following the recommendation of the Davide Commission that investigated the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

Esperon said the J6, the position where Garcia had worked, was virtually abolished in 2005 following the scandal.

Esperon said he was then focused on eliminating the Abu Sayyaf during his term.

It was during that time that the notorious Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani was neutralized, he said.

For his part, Senga, who served as AFP chief from August 2005 to July 2006, said he learned the accusations against Garcia but denied having personal knowledge about the issue.

All the five former military chiefs claimed receiving lump sum pension funds after they retired from the service.

Another former Armed Forces chief, Benjamin Defensor, also sought to clarify insinuations that he could be among those mentioned as the possible recipient of P50 million after he retired on Nov. 28, 2002.

“How can I sign checks when that (date) was the change of command ceremony?” Defensor asked.

Defensor, and other former Armed Forces chiefs Roy Cimatu and Diomedio Villanueva would be summoned to the next hearing, lawmakers said.

On the other hand, Ermita, a former congressman from Batangas, also denied allegations from former state auditor Heidi Mendoza who claimed she had received instructions from the Office of the President telling her to lay off her probe.

“We have never discussed that case in the Cabinet, collectively or individually. We know that this is in the purview of the judiciary,” said the former executive secretary of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, a member of the panel, said the testimonies of the former military chiefs were unlike that of Reyes who had claimed he could not remember the transactions as alleged by Rabusa.

The powerful person

Reyes, on the other hand, challenged Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to file a case in court after being accused as one of the principals behind Garcia.

Trillanes said Reyes was the “powerful person” behind Garcia in his plea bargaining agreement with the government prosecutors.

According to Trillanes, it was obvious that Reyes was one of the officials behind Garcia and the testimony of Rabusa linking the former Defense and AFP chief to alleged corruption in the military should be enough proof of his involvement.

“I am naming him as one of those behind Garcia,” Trillanes declared.

Reyes, however, challenged Trillanes to file a case in court and not to resort to a trial by publicity.

“As a fellow officer and gentleman, I am now challenging Senator Trillanes to waive his parliamentary immunity to suits and then to repeat the same accusations he had made against my person, name and integrity,” Reyes said.

“Better yet, if there is a shred of truth to what Senator Trillanes is saying, I am asking him to rise to the occasion by filing the proper charges against me before any judicial body,” Reyes declared.

“Before man and the Almighty, I know in my conscience that I am not and will never be that ‘powerful person’,” he said.

Trillanes, a member of the Magdalo group of officers that staged the 2003 Oakwood mutiny to highlight their struggle against corruption in the government and the military, said he was part of the procurement system of the AFP.

Trillanes said he was in a position to know all about the anomalies related to this aspect.

“The documents are there. I came from the procurement system. I was a procurement officer and I know where to look. So it was just a matter of time (that these came out),” he said. – With Marvin Sy, Alexis Romero, Michael Punongbayan