The Malampaya fund was supposed to finance 6 projects of the Philippine Navy, which is fast-tracking the purchase of assets because of escalating maritime disputes in the region
There goes the funding for 6 Philippine Navy projects.
The Commission on
Audit (COA) asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to return to the
Bureau of Treasury P61.19 million ($1.4) of Malampaya funds that the military
improperly transferred to its accounts, according to an audit observation
memorandum obtained by Rappler.
“Remit the funds
sourced from Malampaya to the Bureau of Treasury to enable the latter to revert
the same to the Malampaya Funds,” reads the COA memo sent on March 17, 2014 to
Nilo Abaigar, chief accountant of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
The fund transfer
is a possible violation of the Supreme Court (SC) decision on the use of
Malampaya funds for projects on energy resource development and exploitation
programs.
Malacañang
allocated the money – through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) long
before it became controversial – to finance 6 projects of the Philippine Navy.
The fund was parked in the national treasury’s Armed Forces of the Philippines
Modernization Act Trust Fund (AFPMATF), which the AFP can draw from once the
contracts are ready and the money is already needed. (READ: SC stops release of PDAF, Malampaya fund)
Critics protested
Malacanãng's use of the DAP as a channel to allocate funds. It was allegedly
used, among others, to bribe senators to convict removed Chief Justice Renato
Corona. (READ: Drilon admits receiving P10M after Corona trial)
The P900-million
($20-M) Malampaya fund itself has been tainted with corruption. Much of the
fund was allegedly lost to the pockets of fake non-governmental organizations
linked to detained pork barrel scam suspect Janet Napoles. (READ: How the Malampaya
fund was plundered)
When the SC
ruling came out in November 2013, military officers lamented its unintended
impact on the AFP modernization program. The Malampaya natural gas project
funds several AFP modernization projects including the refurbishment of the country's
two warships. (READ: Suspension of Malampaya funds to derail AFP modernization)
AFP
ignores Court
The AFP ignored the
SC ruling, the COA memo shows.
On December 21,
2013, higher headquarters transferred the money from the treasury’s AFP
Modernization Act Trust Fund to an AFPMATF Combo Account. The transfer was made
a month after the SC ruling.
It was obviously
a move to secure the money for the projects of the navy before the treasury
moves the money back to the Malampaya fund to heed the Court's verdict.
“The transfer of
the NCA from MDS to the combo account for future use for the Philippine Navy
projects may not be valid, since Malampaya funds has to be utilized only for
the special purposes not otherwise declared as unconstitutional, such as those
to finance energy resource development and exploitation programs and projects.”
“The transfer to the
Combo account of the P61,190,452 sourced from Malampaya funds for future use of
the AFP Modernization program may not be proper pursuant to the November 19,
2013 promulgation by the Supreme Court, enjoining the use of the Malampaya
funds for purposes other than to finance energy resource development and
exploitation programs and projects,” COA added.
The COA memo
covers 6 unidentified projects of the Philippine Navy, which is fast-tracking
the acquisition of assets because of the escalating maritime disputes in the
region. It is not clear if there are other projects are affected.
A pending project
to upgrade a naval detachment facing the disputed Spratlys
will also be financed by Malampaya funds, said navy spokesperson Commander
Gregory Fabic.
But the Malampaya fund has been tainted with corruption.
The military, a
laggard in the region in terms of ships and aircraft, has been
trying to modernize as it begins to focus on external defense and given the
Philippine government's worsening maritime row with China
But it's also
been beset with corruption over the last decades.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/58567-coa-military-malampaya-funds
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