PNP to cooperate with Ombudsman on SAF allowance mess —Albayalde

Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde has left to the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices the investigation of the alleged withholding of almost P59 million in subsistence allowance meant for the Special Action Force.

"Nasa Ombudsman na kasi 'yon so hindi na tayo mangielam diyan. It's already filed in the Ombudsman but what we can probably do is kung meron silang hihingin sa atin, we will give our full support dito," Albayalde said at a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

The new PNP chief vowed that the PNP would fully cooperate with the investigation of the Ombudsman. He said the PNP was preparing documents that would be needed for the probe.

"Definitely there will be no whitewash dito sa imbestigasyon na ginagawa ng Ombudsman, we will fully cooperate with the investigation to be conducted by the Ombudsman," Albayalde said.

"What we are preparing is documents na pwedeng kailanganin ng ating Ombudsman, just in case may hingin sa atin. Pero kasi yung on the aspect of administrative and criminal aspect of the case, hagip na yan ng Ombudsman," he added.

Former and active SAF members filed complaints of malversation of public funds, plunder and administrative complaints for grave misconduct against former SAF chief Director Benjamin Lusad for allegedly failing to distribute two years' worth of their daily additional subsistence allowance (ASA).

Lusad was the former director of SAF from July 1, 2016 to January 18, 2018.

Lusad's former budget and fiscal officer Senior Superintendent Andre Dizon, Senior Police Officer 2 Maila Bustamante and Senior Police Officer 1 Jack James Irica were named as Lusad's co-accused in the complaint.

The complainants alleged that during Lusad's term as SAF chief from July 2016 to January 2018 they were only given their ASA for the months of January 2016 and January to July 2017.

SAF personnel supposedly did not receive their ASA for the months of February to December 2016 and August to December 2017.

Lusad, the current chief of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Southern Luzon, and Dizon, who serves as DIPO-SL Administrative and Resource Management Division chief, have already been relieved from their posts.

Bustamante and Irica, assigned in the PNP-SAF Finance, have also been relieved.

Each SAF commando is entitled to receive an additional daily subsistence allowance of P30 per day or P900 a month due to the dangerous nature of their operations. This is over and above the regular subsistence allowance of P60 per day given to PNP uniformed personnel to support their meal requirement.

Retired PNP chief Director General Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said that Dizon had returned P37 million that was given in two tranches, P10 million and then P27 million.

This was confirmed by SAF chief Director Noli Taliño who said the P10 million was given on April 12, just a day before the plunder and malversation complaints were filed before the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices.

The P27 million, on the other hand, was returned on April 16.

Albayalde, however, said that he had not yet talked to Lusad regarding the allowance mess adding that he was also not privy on whether more funds were "returned" aside from the P37 million.

Taliño said that some SAF commandos had already received the additional subsistence allowance. The distribution started on Monday.

He said that according to Lusad, the funds were used in "operations" and "activities of the group" instead of its intended purpose. —NB, GMA News