Gazmin welcomes plunder complaint over P1.2-B chopper deal

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Wednesday welcomed the filing of plunder complaint against him over the allegedly anomalous P1.2-billion chopper deal in 2013.

“Mabuti yun para malaman ang katotohanan,” said Gazmin, referring to the plunder complaint filed by whistleblower Rhodora Alvarez before the Office of the Ombudsman.

DND spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez echoed Gazmin's statement.

“Nonetheless, we welcome the development as it provides an opportunity for the secretary and the DND to disprove Rhodora Alvarez's allegations and reiterate the facts we have presented in the Senate hearing,” he said.

Galvez said Gazmin and the other officials named as respondents have yet to receive copies of the complaint.

DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, chairman of the department's Bids and Awards Committee and among those named respondents, said he could not immediately make a comment on the filing of the case.

“No comment for the moment. There is a process that we will follow,” Manalo said.

Galvez added that the DND has always been transparent with its own investigation on the chopper deal.

"In fact, in the spirit of transparency, on August 2015 the Investigation Report of the DND, along with all the records, was already submitted to the DOJ, the Ombudsman, the Senate and the Congress,” he said.

During hearings by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee last year, Alvarez accused Gazmin of favoring the supplier in the allegedly anomalous chopper deal.

Alvarez claimed that Gazmin was supposed to receive a seven-percent commission from the deal.

She also said that the other officials involved in the deal were also supposed to receive a five-percent kickback.

The Department of National Defense entered into a P1.21-billion contract with the JV of Rice Aircraft Services and Eagle Copters in 2013 for 21 UH-1D or Huey helicopters, including spare parts.

Under the contract, the JV must deliver all 21 choppers to the AFP within 180 days until Sept. 21, 2014.

The contractor, however, was only able to deliver 10 choppers. Of these, only two were accepted by the AFP because the others were found to have defective engines and insufficient spare parts and accessories. —ALG, GMA News