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Former President Fidel V. Ramos called on the
present administration to put a stop to the pabaon system within the
military, as exposed by whistle-blower and former military budget
officer George Rabusa.
MANILA, Philippines—Former President Fidel V. Ramos called on the
present administration to put a stop to the "pabaon" system within the
military, as exposed by whistle-blower and former military budget
officer George Rabusa.
Ramos, in an interview at the sidelines of the 20th Philippine
National Police Foundation Day on Monday, said President Benigno Aquino
III should immediately identify and act on those in-charge of
perpetrating the supposed military tradition.
"This must come to a closure [and] it's not in the Senate blue ribbon
committee where this will happen. It must happen in the leadership of
the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), starting with the
commander-in-chief. Because that is the chain of command," Ramos said.
"The [military] generals are just following the orders of the
commander-in-chief if it involves normal operations. But if it involves
something abnormal, then the commander-in-chief should be the first one
to arrest the corrupt people responsible for this," he added.
Rabusa, at the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing last week,
divulged this military tradition and claimed that former military
chief-of-staff Angelo Reyes received P5 million regularly during his
20-month stint in office. Reyes was also allegedly given P50 million as
send-off money for his retirement.
Other military chiefs also received a start-up fund of P10 million.
Ramos said he was saddened by this revelation. He recalled that
during his stint in the military, there was no such thing as send-off
money.
"During our time it was always combat operations, we did not have the
chance to focus on such things. We have a contingency fund under the
control of the commander at each level. As you go down to the field, the
fund gets smaller. But that's not send-off money, that is for those on
the field and civilians affected by the fighting," he added.
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present administration to put a stop to the pabaon system within the
military, as exposed by whistle-blower and former military budget
officer George Rabusa.
MANILA, Philippines—Former President Fidel V. Ramos called on the
present administration to put a stop to the "pabaon" system within the
military, as exposed by whistle-blower and former military budget
officer George Rabusa.
Ramos, in an interview at the sidelines of the 20th Philippine
National Police Foundation Day on Monday, said President Benigno Aquino
III should immediately identify and act on those in-charge of
perpetrating the supposed military tradition.
"This must come to a closure [and] it's not in the Senate blue ribbon
committee where this will happen. It must happen in the leadership of
the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), starting with the
commander-in-chief. Because that is the chain of command," Ramos said.
"The [military] generals are just following the orders of the
commander-in-chief if it involves normal operations. But if it involves
something abnormal, then the commander-in-chief should be the first one
to arrest the corrupt people responsible for this," he added.
Rabusa, at the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing last week,
divulged this military tradition and claimed that former military
chief-of-staff Angelo Reyes received P5 million regularly during his
20-month stint in office. Reyes was also allegedly given P50 million as
send-off money for his retirement.
Other military chiefs also received a start-up fund of P10 million.
Ramos said he was saddened by this revelation. He recalled that
during his stint in the military, there was no such thing as send-off
money.
"During our time it was always combat operations, we did not have the
chance to focus on such things. We have a contingency fund under the
control of the commander at each level. As you go down to the field, the
fund gets smaller. But that's not send-off money, that is for those on
the field and civilians affected by the fighting," he added.
original link: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]