General alarm: Battle brews over veterans' affairs

There's trouble in the ranks of retired soldiers, who are opposing an alleged attempt by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) to take over the operations of the government-owned and -controlled Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP).

The PVAO, one of the units under the Department of National Defense, has created the Veterans Affairs Management Division (VAMD) to directly monitor the activities and assets of the VFP.

“PVAO has no authority to do that," said retired brigadier general Rodrigo Gutang, secretary of the Cavalier Association of Veterans, one of the VFP's member organizations.

The VFP is the umbrella organization of all veterans' groups in the country. It rakes in P130 million a year from renting out the Veterans Industrial Complex in Taguig City, Gutang said.

“The government does not spend any money for VFP. We receive no appropriation from Congress. Hindi kailangan i-take over,” he told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

Gutang called the move "alarming" and accused Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin of using the new VFP constitution approved last year to confuse their members.

No takeover

However, retired lieutenant general Ernesto Carolina, PVAO administrator, denied the reported attempt to take over VFP's operations.

“[The takeover] is not true," Carolina said in a phone interview.

He explained that Gazmin is merely doing his job. "By law, VFP is under the supervision and control of the Secretary of National Defense,” he said.

Carolina noted that the VAMD was created to monitor the transactions of the VFP and check for abuse, particularly in the supervision of the VFP's properties and resources.

“Many, many years napabayaan. For more than 20 years, the same group of people manages the affairs,” Carolina said.

Retired colonel Emmanuel De Ocampo has been president of the VFP since 1985.

“The supervision and management of current VFP officers were not able to create the optimum revenues,” Carolina opined.

Unregulated revenues?

Carolina said the PVAO is considering regulations on the earnings of the VFP, particularly those coming from its sprawling 50-hectare property in Taguig City.

“They are earning marginally from the prime property in Taguig. They are not accounting [for] the money. 'Yung earnings, ginagawang budget nila,” Carolina said.

Gutang denied the allegation, saying the defense department regulates VFP's annual budget. “The budget of the VFP is approved every year by the Department of National Defense before we can spend it. There is check and balance.” he stressed.

According to Carolina, what prompted the PVAO to place the VFP under scrutiny is the group's lack of financial reports, biddings, or budget approvals.

A Commission on Audit Report on VFP in 2012 indicated mismanagement and deficiencies in the group's accounting of funds.

"The balance of the Property, Plant and Equipment account amounting to P174.4 million with a net book value of P168.9 million as of December 31, 2012 is of doubtful validity due to the absence of subsidiary ledgers, property cards, and sufficient documents to support the value of the building and condominium," the report read.

Entries in VFP's books totaling P75.1 million had deficiencies, while VFP officers and employees received salaries and allowances exceeding the amounts permitted by law.

"Salaries and allowances of VFP Officers and Employees amounting to P5.75 million were not in accordance with RA 6758 or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1999, and Compensation System of the DBM," the report read.

"There were significant lapses in the granting and settlement of cash advances," the Audit commission added.

Likewise, the COA report showed that VFP did not bid out the procurement of goods, a recurring expense totalling P10.27 million.

VFP reforms

To provide a solution, Carolina said the government had to implement reforms, which included the creation of the VAMD.

“To institute reforms [in the] VFP, it took so many years. They were not cooperative. There were many deficiencies noted in a COA report which covers 2010 to 2012,” Carolina said.

“It took us two years to craft by-laws. We presented it to the House committee on veterans affairs, in consultation with VFP and other veteran organizations. In October 2013, new by-laws were completed,” he said.

Gutang has claimed there were no public consultations on the new VFP constitution.

According to Carolina, an election code for the VFP is expected to be completed by November this year to counter the "monopoly" by a handful of members in top positions.

There will also be an information campaign to encourage non-member veterans to join the VFP. Currently, only 30 percent of veterans – roughly 40,000 – have joined the VFP.

"[Reform] is normal in any organization na napapabayaan. Some people were benefiting from this wrong set-up. They are [now] resisting," he said.

He said that without the reforms, "VFP does not represent the voice of the veterans." — JDS/YA, GMA News