3 ex-military chiefs linked to bidding scam

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) Three former chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been implicated by its former budget officer in the purchase without bidding of multimillion-peso military equipment.

Lieutenant Colonel George Rabusa told a Senate inquiry Thursday that Generals’ Angelo Reyes, Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu, and former military comptrollers Carlos Garcia and Jacinto Ligot were all involved separately in the purchase of P200 million worth of ammunition in Thailand and another $2 million for the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicle.

Both purchases, Rabusa said, were done without public bidding.

Rabusa said Reyes participated in the purchase of P200 million worth of ammunition while he and Ligot facilitated the sale.

Reyes, Villanueva, Cimatu and Garcia were also involved in the $2 million purchase of unmanned aerial vehicle, the witness claimed.

It was Villanueva, he said, who instructed him to produce the $2 million.

Earlier in the hearing that is investigating the plea bargaining agreement between Garcia and government prosecutors, Rabusa disclosed that Villanueva and Cimatu also received send-off money when they retired.

“Meron po [There was],” said Rabusa during the continuation of his testimony before the Senate blue ribbon committee.

Rabusa was responding to Senator Jose Jinggoy Estrada's question if Villanueva was also given send-off money upon his retirement.

He said a total of P240 million was supposedly given as “send-off” money to the two generals--P160 million, not P200 million as earlier claimed, supposedly to Villanueva and P80 million supposedly to Cimatu.

Rabusa said it was Garcia who instructed him to produce the P160 million for Villanueva.

“Ito ay sinabi po sa akin ni Gen. Garcia ma maglaan kami ng P160 million supposedly to be pabaon kay Gen. Villanueva (This was what Gen. Garcia told me to do, to set aside P160 million supposedly as send-off money to Gen. Villanueva),” said Rabusa.

When Estrada asked Rabusa if Gen. Vilanueva took all that money, he said he did not know.

Rabusa said he deposited the P160 million at the Security Bank located at Herrera Street in Makati City-- the first deposit, P95 million, was made on July 19, 2001, and the remaining P65 million was deposited on September 12, 2001.

Rabusa said he wanted to call Villanueva to ask him if he received the money but did not do it because he said he wanted to follow protocol.

Estrada then asked Garcia, who was present at the hearing, if he gave the money to Villanueva, but the latter invoked his right against self-incrimination.

This angered Estrada who moved for Garcia's detention at the Senate because of his repeated invokation of his right to self-incrimination.

“Kapag ganito lahat ang sagot nitong henearal na ito, kung hindi kaya ng Ombudsman na ipakulong ito , tayo na ang magpakulong nito (if this is what this general [Garcia] is giving us as his answer, then let the Senate detain him if the Ombudsman could not detain him) ,” said Estrada.

The hearing was temporarily suspended to cool things down. When it resumed a few minutes later, the chairman of the committee ruled that it could not decide on Estrada's motion for lack of quorum.

Villanueva was invited to the hearing but begged off because his wife just died.

Before this, Rabusa disclosed that other sources of funds were being created only to “preserve” the provisions for directed-command activities (PCDA).

Rabusa had claimed that the PCDA was the source of the P50-million send-off money received by Reyes who retired in 2001.

Reyes has repeatedly denied the allegation. (report from Maila Ager, Inquirer.net)