Miriam tells Army: Explain undelivered military ammunition, equipment

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago wants the Philippine Army to explain the non-delivery of military ammunition and equipment despite the funds released for its purchase.

 

On Monday, Santiago said she will file a resolution calling for a Senate probe on a Commission on Audit (COA) report, which states that bulk of the military supplies the Army was programmed to procure in 2014 have not been delivered.

 

“How can we expect our troops to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity when they have no ammunition or equipment for training? Funds have been disbursed, why were supplies not delivered?” the senator said.

 

Santiago, chair of the Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement, said a recently released COA report shows that despite the P569.6 million the Army released to the Government Arsenal for ammunition, only P42.4 million worth of ammunition were delivered in 2014.

 

The same COA report showed that of the P231.9 million worth of combat clothing and equipment the Army requested through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management from 2004 to 2011, P786,000 remained undelivered in 2014.

 

"State auditors claimed that due to these failures, the Philippine Army was deprived of the timely use of the procured items," Santiago said. 

 

Santiago added that the non-delivery of the military supplies put Filipino soldiers at risk.

 

“The Philippines is threatened by a neighbor encroaching on its territory. We cannot afford to postpone—not even for a day—the delivery of much-needed ammunition and equipment,” she said. 

 

The senator has been urging the military to boost its defenses against external threats, even as she criticized the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the US. —Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/ALG, GMA News