‘Any shortage of funding for the AFP Modernization Program seriously threatens our ability to protect Filipinos from various threats,' says Senator Risa Hontiveros
Senator Risa Hontiveros has called for a probe into whether the military has been getting its rightful share of proceeds from the sale of former bases and reservations by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
In a resolution filed on Wednesday, September 9, and shared with reporters the next day, the opposition senator urged the Senate to lead a “comprehensive audit” of the BCDA’s operations and how the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has used its share of the BCDA’s earnings over the years.
Hontiveros said the legislative probe would look into whether the AFP is able to use its shares of proceeds from the BCDA’s sale of former military assets “to ensure that vital national security interests are actually upheld.”
This, after the BCDA denied a claim by AFP chief General Gilbert Gapay that it owed the military some P13.2 billion in remittances. The BCDA said the amount was already with the Bureau of the Treasury, but it had yet to be appropriated.
“The conflicting claims of these two agencies should be investigated and reconciled. Nasaan na ba talaga ang P13.2 billion na hinihingi ng AFP? Bakit hindi pa ito ginagamit para pondohan ang mga kailangan na barko, eroplano, weapon systems, at ibang kagamitan?” Hontiveros said. (Where is the P13.2 billion that the AFP is asking for? Why hasn’t it been used to fund the needed ships, planes, weapons systems, and other equipment?)
The government needs to ensure enough funds for the AFP’s modernization in the face of the lingering threat of terrorism, and China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea, the senator added.
“We need to conduct a comprehensive audit of the proceeds from BCDA’s operations over the years, to determine whether the AFP has been receiving its rightful share of such proceeds to finance its modernization projects,” she said.
The Commission on Audit (COA) reported in 2017 that the AFP received no share of proceeds from BCDA operations in military camps outside Metro Manila, including the Clark Special Economic Zone. Hontiveros said the COA then recommended that Congress pass legislation “to correct this deficiency.”
In a separate report, the COA said the AFP was denied its share from the disposition of the property now occupied by the commercial complex that includes the mall SM Aura. Hontiveros said the property was donated to the City of Taguig in 2008, and a portion was subsequently leased to SM Prime Holdings.
Republic Act No. 7898 or the Bases Conversion and Development Act mandates the BCDA to remit 35% of proceeds from the sale of former military reservations to help finance projects under the AFP Modernization Program.
The BCDA was established in the early 1990s to help fund the AFP by selling and developing former military bases and reservations for commercial use. According to its website, the BCDA has contributed a total of P46.55 billion to the AFP’s modernization program from May 1993 to June 2020.
In denying it owed the military billions in remittances, the BCDA said it posted record-high contributions to the AFP in the first half of the Duterte administration, amounting to P15.16 billion.
During Gapay’s confirmation hearing with the Commission on Appointments on September 2, Senator Panfilo Lacson said the BCDA had so far only remitted P6.8 billion out of an expected P20 billion for fiscal year 2020. The military chief affirmed this.
Lacson then told Gapay to collect the balance of P13.2 billion.
Rappler sought clarification from Gapay and Lacson after the BCDA made its denial. Neither official has responded to the queries as of posting. We will update this story as soon as they reply.
“Despite the BCDA’s claims of record remittances, the fact remains that there is still a whopping P300 billion worth of unfunded projects in the AFP Modernization Program which are yet to receive a single centavo from the BCDA. This is unacceptable,” Hontiveros said on Thursday, September 10.
“Any shortage of funding for the AFP Modernization Program seriously threatens our ability to protect Filipinos from various threats, including terrorist attacks and aggression by foreign countries in our territorial waters. Ang bawat piso na hindi naibibigay sa modernisasyon ng AFP ay naglalagay sa buong bansa sa alanganin,” she added. (Every peso not given to the modernization of the AFP puts the entire country in peril.)
https://rappler.com/nation/hontiveros-seeks-probe-bcda-remittances-military
In a resolution filed on Wednesday, September 9, and shared with reporters the next day, the opposition senator urged the Senate to lead a “comprehensive audit” of the BCDA’s operations and how the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has used its share of the BCDA’s earnings over the years.
Hontiveros said the legislative probe would look into whether the AFP is able to use its shares of proceeds from the BCDA’s sale of former military assets “to ensure that vital national security interests are actually upheld.”
This, after the BCDA denied a claim by AFP chief General Gilbert Gapay that it owed the military some P13.2 billion in remittances. The BCDA said the amount was already with the Bureau of the Treasury, but it had yet to be appropriated.
“The conflicting claims of these two agencies should be investigated and reconciled. Nasaan na ba talaga ang P13.2 billion na hinihingi ng AFP? Bakit hindi pa ito ginagamit para pondohan ang mga kailangan na barko, eroplano, weapon systems, at ibang kagamitan?” Hontiveros said. (Where is the P13.2 billion that the AFP is asking for? Why hasn’t it been used to fund the needed ships, planes, weapons systems, and other equipment?)
The government needs to ensure enough funds for the AFP’s modernization in the face of the lingering threat of terrorism, and China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea, the senator added.
“We need to conduct a comprehensive audit of the proceeds from BCDA’s operations over the years, to determine whether the AFP has been receiving its rightful share of such proceeds to finance its modernization projects,” she said.
The Commission on Audit (COA) reported in 2017 that the AFP received no share of proceeds from BCDA operations in military camps outside Metro Manila, including the Clark Special Economic Zone. Hontiveros said the COA then recommended that Congress pass legislation “to correct this deficiency.”
In a separate report, the COA said the AFP was denied its share from the disposition of the property now occupied by the commercial complex that includes the mall SM Aura. Hontiveros said the property was donated to the City of Taguig in 2008, and a portion was subsequently leased to SM Prime Holdings.
Republic Act No. 7898 or the Bases Conversion and Development Act mandates the BCDA to remit 35% of proceeds from the sale of former military reservations to help finance projects under the AFP Modernization Program.
The BCDA was established in the early 1990s to help fund the AFP by selling and developing former military bases and reservations for commercial use. According to its website, the BCDA has contributed a total of P46.55 billion to the AFP’s modernization program from May 1993 to June 2020.
In denying it owed the military billions in remittances, the BCDA said it posted record-high contributions to the AFP in the first half of the Duterte administration, amounting to P15.16 billion.
During Gapay’s confirmation hearing with the Commission on Appointments on September 2, Senator Panfilo Lacson said the BCDA had so far only remitted P6.8 billion out of an expected P20 billion for fiscal year 2020. The military chief affirmed this.
Lacson then told Gapay to collect the balance of P13.2 billion.
Rappler sought clarification from Gapay and Lacson after the BCDA made its denial. Neither official has responded to the queries as of posting. We will update this story as soon as they reply.
“Despite the BCDA’s claims of record remittances, the fact remains that there is still a whopping P300 billion worth of unfunded projects in the AFP Modernization Program which are yet to receive a single centavo from the BCDA. This is unacceptable,” Hontiveros said on Thursday, September 10.
“Any shortage of funding for the AFP Modernization Program seriously threatens our ability to protect Filipinos from various threats, including terrorist attacks and aggression by foreign countries in our territorial waters. Ang bawat piso na hindi naibibigay sa modernisasyon ng AFP ay naglalagay sa buong bansa sa alanganin,” she added. (Every peso not given to the modernization of the AFP puts the entire country in peril.)
https://rappler.com/nation/hontiveros-seeks-probe-bcda-remittances-military
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