Solon tags DND as ‘Department of National Offenses,’ grills military officials over HRVs & fund misuse by Sep 3, 2013 11:04am HKT IN the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the proposed budget of the Department of National Defense (DND) today, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon grilled high-ranking military officials over “suspicious transactions” made by various agencies under the Defense Department and the proliferation of military-instigated human rights volations in the country. Citing the latest reports of the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding suspicious disbursements of agencies under the DND, particularly the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Ridon questioned Defense Sec. Voltaire Gazmin over unliquidated cash advances of officials and employees under his department and the “apparent mismanagement” of the Quick Response Fund (QRF). In the 2011 COA report for the General Headquarters of the AFP (AFP GHQ), state auditors observed that cash advances for the payroll fund amounting to P24.85 million and advances to officers and employees amounting to P114.1 million – a total of P138.9 million – remain unliquidated as of December 2011. Unliquidated cash advances are also present in other agencies under DND, including the Philippine Army. “COA has yet to release the full audit report for 2012, that’s why in today’s hearing, we’ll ask DND officials on the status of these unliquidated funds,” Ridon said. The youth solon also pointed out possible mismanagement of the QRF, or the fund allotted to several DND agencies for relief and rehabilitation programs during disasters and calamities. In the 2011 COA report, state auditors have pointed out that the DND QRF for 2011 and prior years, totalling P611.7 million of which 48 percent or P295.48 million pertains to 2011, “were not obligated in the year these were received, instead, these were extended and obligated only in the succeeding year.” COA noted that “the slow utilization of the QRF which was due to inadequate planning, coordination and monitoring” which resulted to delays in the rehabilitation and relief of several communities affected by calamities in 2011 and prior years. In the 2012 COA report meanwhile, state auditors also pointed out irregularities in the way the Office of Civil Defense used the QRF. According to COA, “Purchases out of the Quick Response Fund for non-food relief items thru Small Value Procurement were made without adhering to the provisions of Sections 54.2 and 54.3 of RA 9184 and Administrative Order No. 17 on the required positing of procurement activities in the PHILGEPS website; and complying with Section 4.6 of PD 1145 on the documentation requirement.” “Clearly, the QRF – which is supposed to be a fund for the immediate relief and rehabilitation efforts of the DND – is being grossly mishandled. Delays in the delivery of services funded by QRF defeats the very purpose of the said special fund,” Ridon noted. ‘Department of National Offenses’ In front of generals and high-ranking defense officials, the youth solon also slammed the military’s “dismal record” with regard to human rights. “Despite the avowed human rights reforms under the Aquino administration, human rights violations continue to be perpetrated – and even worsened – under the current administration,” Ridon said. The youth legislator cited the latest report of human rights group Karapatan, wherein it was revealed that from the period July 2010 to April 2013, a total of 142 cases of extrajudicial killings, 16 cases of enforced disappearance, 76 cases of torture, over 30,000 victims of forced evacuation and other human rights violations were recorded, with the military being implicated in many of the said cases. Ridon also slammed the recent aerial bombings in Mt. Province, which resulted to massive disruption of economic activities in the affected areas. Last August 30, combined military and police forces conducted aerial bombings and ground operations in the northernmost barrios of Sagada and Bontoc to go after alleged rebel insurgents hiding in the said area. “Whatever their excuse is, they can never hide the grave human rights violation they committed when the military decided to conduct air strikes. There can never be any justification for air strikes,” Ridon said. “There is much to ask from the Defense Department – from fund misuse to abuse of power. With the rate things are going, I would even suggest that we change the name of this agency from DND to DNO or Department of National Offenses,” Ridon said.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 05:03:34 +0000
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