Galvez rebuffs Raffy Tulfo's corruption claims in MILF decommissioning process

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU), on Tuesday refuted Senator Raffy Tulfo's allegations that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) decommissioning process has been tainted with corruption.

Tulfo made the accusations at a Senate national defense committee hearing after Galvez reported that 26,132 combatants have surrendered and 4,625 firearms have been decommissioned from the MILF.

The senator said the number of surrenderees should match the number of firearms that have been surrendered, adding that the government has released P2.6 billion as cash assistance to the former combatants.

"Naglolokohan po tayo. P2.6 billion unaccounted for. Saan po napunta 'to? Kasi kung ganito rin lang eh ako po ay isa sa mga gagawa ng hakbang na bawasan ang budget niyo from P7 billion, tumaas pa nga kayo e… sa kabila nitong kapalpakan na nangyari," Tulfo said.

(We are fooling each other. P2.6 billion remains unaccounted for. Where did this go? If this goes on, I will take steps to reduce your P7-billion budget. Your budget even increased... in spite of these shortcomings.)

"Nabigyan pa kayo ng increase ang kakapal naman po ng mukha niyo d'yan. Sorry ha. Ang kakapal ng mukha niyo. Meron na ngang nangyaring anomalya, for me this is a big anomaly, may nangyari na ngang anomalya, may gana pa kayong humingi ng increase [in your budget]," he added.

(You were given an increase but you are shameless. Sorry. You are shameless. An anomaly has happened. For me, this is a big anomaly, and yet you have the gall to ask for an increase [in your budget.])

Galvez said the International Decommissioning Body (IDB), which was tapped by the MILF and the Philippine government, has been doing full identification and verification of the former combatants, including biometrics identification.

He added that their personal firearms were not included in the total number of weapons surrendered by the former combatants as this is covered by a separate program under the peace agreement, which they are only implementing.

However, Tulfo insisted his corruption claims were only based on the data provided by Galvez.

"May korapsyon dito, whether you like it or not. Meron po. Ang laki ng discrepancy. Mag-imbestiga po kayo. Dapat po may managot. Ang laking pera po dito ang nawala sa gobyerno. Dahil kung hindi po, sa susunod na Senate hearing, papatapyasan ko kayo ng budget," he said.

(There is corruption here, whether you like it or not. The discrepancy is too great. Go ahead and investigate it. Someone should be held accountable, otherwise, in the next hearing, I will move to slash your budget.)

In response, Galvez said, "I could proudly say that there is no corruption in this decommissioning. We are just following the agreement. Do not tell us that we are corrupt."

"I take offense, senator, that you are already telling us that there is corruption. I believe that is not a correct accusation to us," he added

Tulfo clarified that he is not accusing Galvez of being corrupt, but asserted that there are people in the decommissioning process who might "not be doing their job or maybe they're involved in corruption."

"Prove to us na walang korapsyon then sabihin niyo sa amin bakit ganito kalaking discrepancy. 'Pag napaliwanag mo nang maayos then babawiin ko 'yung sinabi ko dito, mag-a-apologize pa ako sa iyo, pero unless hindi mo mapaliwanag, then I'll stand by what I said, may korapsyon," he said.

(Prove to us that there is no corruption, then tell us why the discrepancy is so big. If you can explain it properly, I will take back what I said here, I will apologize to you. But unless you provide an explanation, I'll stand by what I said that there is corruption.)

While Galvez mentioned other factors that affect the decommissioning process, Tulfo dared Galvez to show proof to the Senate panel that no one is "making money" out of it.

"I beg to disagree na pinagkakakitaan po, sir, 'yung decommissioning because I, myself, I'm really implementing this… I will show proof that we are not corrupt," a visibly disappointed Galvez responded.

(I beg to disagree that money is being made out of the decommissioning because I, myself, I'm really implementing this... I will show proof that we are not corrupt.)

Galvez said he would make a presentation on the decommissioning process in the next Senate hearing, while Tulfo urged the presidential peace adviser to investigate the discrepancy and report their findings to the committee.

In August 2023, Malacañang announced the resumption of the third phase of the decommissioning process.

Galvez earlier said that 1,301 MILF combatants would join the third phase of the decommissioning, while another 14,000 are expected to follow suit in the next two years.

From 2015 to 2022, a total of 28,844 MILF combatants and 4,625 firearms have been decommissioned, 5,499 of which were decommissioned in September to October 2022 under the Marcos administration, according to Malacañang.

The IDB is expected to complete the decommissioning process before the first election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2025.— VDV, GMA Integrated News