2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal
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The 2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal, also known as the "' scandal," was a
political scandal In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, unethic ...
involving the alleged misuse of military funds by high-ranking members of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...
(AFP). The system referred to a practice of giving millions of pesos to chiefs of staff when they retire. An estimated PHP1.5 billion in AFP funds were allegedly placed anomalously in an unaudited pool of discretionary resources. Under the system, AFP general Carlos Garcia was alleged to have plundered PHP303 million as head of the comptroller's office while former AFP chief of staff
Angelo Reyes Angelo Tomas Reyes (March 17, 1945 – February 8, 2011) also known as General Reyes, was a Filipino retired general and politician who served as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff from 2000 to 2001 under President Josep ...
was alleged to have received PHP50 million as send-off money. The scandal led to the recommendation of filing of plunder charges against six retired generals and five other officers. The Philippine
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
named the following in its recommendation to the
Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
: AFP chiefs Roy Cimatu and Diomedio Villanueva; retired military comptrollers Garcia and Jacinto Ligot; retired major general Hilario Atendido; former brigadier general Benito de Leon; retired lieutenant colonel Ernesto Paranis; active-duty officers Cirilo Tomas Donato and Roy de Vesa; former civilian auditor of Divina Cabrera; and former accountant Generoso del Castillo.


Background

The
Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...
(AFP) was embroiled in a corruption scandal in early 2011 after its former budget officer George Rabusa testified in a
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Blue Ribbon Committee of the ' (send-off money) system. The ' system refers to the money given to a retiring
chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
as send-off money. The money used for system was derived from funds which were diverted to retiring chiefs of staff. The way the money was diverted was uncovered by Commission on Audit auditor Heidi Mendoza when she testified on a
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
Committee on Justice. Generals Jacinto Ligot and Carlos Garcia, who were the AFP's comptrollers when the system was in place, were detained; however, the
Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
went into a plea bargaining agreement with Garcia, in the government withdrew their cases against him as they contended the evidence was weak. Rabusa testified that all of the AFP chiefs of staff were recipients of send-off money; they all denied knowingly receiving such send-off money.
Angelo Reyes Angelo Tomas Reyes (March 17, 1945 – February 8, 2011) also known as General Reyes, was a Filipino retired general and politician who served as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff from 2000 to 2001 under President Josep ...
, one of the accused recipients, committed suicide as he was compelled by Congress to testify on the matter.


Rabusa's testimony

The House Committee on Justice and Senate Blue Ribbon Committee conducted hearings on the
plea bargaining A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defend ...
agreement of the
Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
and retired General Carlos Garcia who has a plunder suit in the
Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan ( en, Support of the Nation) is a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public officer ...
(special court for government officials). On January 26, retired Col. George Rabusa exposed the alleged ' or send-off system in the military, which gives at least
PHP PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group ...
50 million (
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1.1 million) to retiring
chiefs of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the support ...
of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...
(AFP). Rabusa said he gave not less than 50 million pesos to Gen.
Angelo Reyes Angelo Tomas Reyes (March 17, 1945 – February 8, 2011) also known as General Reyes, was a Filipino retired general and politician who served as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff from 2000 to 2001 under President Josep ...
when he retired. On January 30, Rabusa further said that former AFP chiefs of staff
Diomedio Villanueva Diomedio Villanueva was retired Philippine Army General who served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 2001 - 2002. He succeeded General Angelo Reyes who was appointed as Secretary of National Defense upon his mandatory r ...
and Roy Cimatu were also given send-off money. The payoffs, done monthly, were also given to vice, deputy and secretary to the joint chiefs of staff. Rabusa had been given by his comptrollers, Jacinto Ligot then Carlos Garcia, discretion on how to utilize the provisions for command-directed activities (PCDA), and these were given as send-off money to the generals. On the next Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Rabusa said that he delivered at least PHP160 million to Garcia, who ordered him to withdraw PHP10 million 16 times. Rabusa concluded that Garcia should have given it to Villanueva. Rabusa, who had kept copies of the
Security Bank Security Bank Corporation (SBC) is a universal bank in the Philippines. It was established on June 18, 1951, as Security Bank and Trust Company and was the first private and Filipino-controlled bank of the post-World War II period. Security B ...
receipts, did so before the Anti-Money Laundering Act was put into force. Rabusa also included all AFP chiefs of staff, from his appointment as budget officer from 2000 until he left office as recipients of the alleged send-off money. Rabusa also admitted that he pocketed PHP50 million when he was still a budget officer from 2000 to 2002, and that wives of the generals were also given money. Representative
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
issued a statement that she did not have anything to do with the alleged corruption in the military. Five of the chiefs of staff, Narciso Abaya, Dionisio Santiago, Generoso Senga, Hermogenes Esperon, and Alexander Yano, denied receiving money, and denied that their wives used government money to spend o their overseas trips. As a result of Rabusa's allegations, Senate President ''pro tempore''
Jinggoy Estrada Jose Pimentel Ejercito Jr. (; born February 17, 1963), also known as Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada or simply Jinggoy Estrada, is a Filipino politician, film actor, and producer serving as a Senator since 2022, and previously from 2004 to 2016. He ...
(who presented Rabusa as a witness in the hearings), asked Ligot on the subsequent hearing, on his wife's alleged 42 overseas trips from 1993 to 2004; the retired general refused to answer and Estrada summoned Ligot's wife Erlinda at the next hearing. Rabusa also revealed that former Representative
Prospero Pichay Prospero Arreza Pichay Jr. (, born June 20, 1950), also known as Butch Pichay, is a Filipino politician who served as Representative of Surigao del Sur's 1st district in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007 and from 2016 to ...
had been given PHP1.5 million on his three visits at Gen. Villanueva's office. Pichay subsequently filed libel raps against Rabusa. Villanueva, whose wife had just died, and Cimatu, who was then serving as special envoy to the Middle East, appeared on the Senate to deny that they received send-off money; Cimatu testified that his ' were his 40 medals and citations as a soldier. Cimatu's executive assistant, Brig. Gen. Benito de Leon, admitting receiving millions of pesos from Rabusa, but insisted that the transaction was legal. Rabusa replied that de Leon's statement was a "total lie."


Mendoza's testimony

On a hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice on late January 2011, former Commission on Audit (COA) auditor Heidi Mendoza testified that she uncovered irregularities in funds by the military. Among the irregularities she found was the 200 million peso AFP Inter-Agency Fund, and the US$5 million
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN) reimbursement for Filipino peacekeepers. The AFP fund was split into three bank accounts: 50 million and 100 million pesos on
United Coconut Planters Bank The United Coconut Planters Bank, more popularly known by its initials, UCPB, or by its old name, Cocobank, was a government-controlled and was one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking within the top twenty banks in the country in ...
(UCPB) Alfaro Street, Makati, and another 50 million pesos at UCPB Tordesillas, Makati. The accounts on the Alfaro branch were covered by deposits slips while the account on the Tordesillas branch was not recorded, despite the existence of a passbook. The UCPB Tordesillas branch manager wrote to Mendoza that there was a "cover-up" by the military in the transfer of the UN fund. While the PHP200 million originated at the AFP's trust fund at the
Landbank Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP; often referred to simply as LandBank), is a Government-owned and controlled corporation, government-owned bank in the Philippines with a special focus on serving the needs of farmers and fisherman, fishermen. ...
EDSA-Greenhills branch was split into three accounts, the missing PHP50 million at the UCPB Tordesillas branch was a fresh deposit. In the case of the missing US$5 million, the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
legal attaché asked her if she can be allowed to audit the UN reimbursements, as a certain US$5 million which was personally picked up by a military officer in New York was not reflected in the military's accounts. Former COA chairperson
Guillermo Carague Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player *Guillermo Arà ...
disapproved Mendoza to go to New York to investigate on the matter. Two more accounts by the military, one each at
General Santos General Santos, officially the City of General Santos,; hil, Dakbanwa sang Heneral Santos; Maguindanao language, Maguindanao: ''Ingud nu Heneral Santos''; Blaan language, Blaan: ''Banwe Dadiangas''; Tboli language, Tboli: ''Benwu Dadiangas'' ...
and
Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...
, which were used as clearing accounts for the UN funds, were discovered by Mendoza. Mendoza testified that Carague's orders on not to pursue the cases disheartened her; Carague, Mendoza said, was given by orders from the executive department, probably from the
Executive Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
.


See also

*
Impeachment of Merceditas Gutierrez The Philippine Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of the office's alleged underperformance and failure to act on several cases during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She became the s ...
* Armed Forces and Police Savings & Loan Association, Inc.


References

{{Benigno Aquino III 2011 in the Philippines Political scandals in the Philippines Presidency of Benigno Aquino III