5 former AFP chiefs deny getting 'pasalubong, pabaon'

MANILA, Philippines - A former chief of staff of the military confirmed Tuesday the existence of a multimillion-peso "slush fund" that was maintained by skimming off the budgets of major services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Former AFP chief of staff Narciso Abaya said the Provision for Command-Directed Activities (PCDA) fund was sourced from the different military units involving the personnel, intelligence, operations, logistics and plans and programs.

He said the money was used as a discretionary fund of the AFP chief of staff, which he gave out as incentives to personnel or used for emergency expenses in the field.

"Yes, it did exist. This PCDA was stopped during my time. The sources came from key budgetary units....Later in the middle of my term, I stopped the contributions from the major services," he said.

Asked if the PCDA would be subject to abuse, Abaya said: "Yes, your honor. Any system, no matter what kind of system we will have, the most important thing is the integrity of the commander. It can be abused."

Former military budget officer George Rabusa first revealed the existence of the fund, which, he said, was used to give "pabaon" (send-off) money to outgoing chiefs of staff.

Rabusa said former AFP chief of staff Angelo Reyes received P50 million in pabaon when the former military chief stepped down in 2001. This was apart from the P5 million monthly fund he received for his expenses.

Rabusa said he and former military comptroller Jacinto Ligot, his former direct superior, personally handed the money to Reyes in his office in Camp Aguinaldo.

He also named at least 2 more former military chiefs, Roy Cimatu and Diomedio Villanueva, who also pocketed send-off money when they stepped down from the post. He said the 2 received P10 million each in "pasalubong" money when they succeeded Reyes.

AFP chiefs: No pasalubong

Meanwhile, Abaya and 4 other former military chiefs denied receiving any "pasalubong" when they took command of the Armed Forces. They also denied receiving "pabaon" from the military except for the regular lump-sum received by military officers upon retirement.

They admitted receiving command and management funds but did not know how much it was.

The 5 ex-AFP chiefs who testified at the justice panel hearing are Abaya, Dionisio Santiago, Generoso Senga, Hermogenes Esperon and Alexander Yano.

Reyes, Villanueva and Cimatu were not available during Thursday's hearing. Reyes said he received the invitation late Monday, Cimatu said he is abroad while Villanueva is grieving the recent death of his wife.

General Ricardo David, the incumbent AFP chief of staff, said the PCDA no longer exists after former AFP chief Abaya abolished it. He said that under the present AFP procurement system, programs are predetermined and chiefs of staff are given little leeway to spend the money.

David said another part of the change is the abolition of the Office of the Military Comptroller (J-6), which handled the PCDA. The J-6 office was devolved into 4 separate offices: the AFP Resource Management Office, Management and Fiscal Office, Accounting Services, and an Internal Auditor.

No jetsetting wives

The 5 former military chiefs, meanwhile, categorically denied having "jet-setting wives" amid reports that Reyes's wife took many local and foreign trips, complete with pocket money up to $10,000, when her husband was AFP chief.

Santiago said his wife is a jetsetter only because of their child's privilege as an employee of Northwest Airlines. He said the family usually flies business class.

He, however, denied that his children ever received allowance from the military.

Abaya said his wife has worked in government all her life and was even a former chief of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

"There are times when her salary was higher. She didn't get any privilege. She drove her own car," he said.

Senga said he only traveled 4 times when he was AFP chief and his wife joined him in at least 2 of the trips. He said the host country paid for the expenses.

Yano said he also traveled at least 4 times on official business as part of military diplomacy in the Asean region.

He said he always brought his wife who is a military nurse. "Wala sila shopping money, If ever, kami lang. We used our own money. We only got free airfare and hotel accommodations," he said.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez noted that none of the military chiefs present had wives who were jetsetters traveling 30-40 times a year. " None of them said I do not remember," he said, referring to Angelo Reyes' statement before the Senate last week when asked if he received such funds.