A FORMER police general who accused Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hernando Irriberi and other officials criticized Ombudsman Conchita Morales for not acting on his complaint over the purchase of ammunition with a purportedly fake export license from the US State Department.
“To date, [the] Ombudsman has not provided the respondents copy of my complaint. For almost three months the wheel of justice has not turned,” said Romulo Maningding, owner and manager of Reforma Enterprises.
Aside from Irriberi, the complaint, filed last Nov. 27., also includeed AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Brigadier General Yucoco; Chief Superintendent Elmo Francis Sarona, Firearms and Explosive Office of the Philippine National Police; Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corp., Export Manager Gulderen Baglacer and Marketing Director Hasan Sahan; MKEK’s local representatives Eduard R. Del Mundo of the Caballo Negro Industriya Corp., and Alan M. Mendoza of the System Nomics Inc.; and several John Does.
Irriberi was also facing separate criminal and graft complaints, also gathering dust at the Ombudsman, for scrapping ammunition projects, worth P98 million, that was won through public bidding by Joavi Philippines Corp., without legal basis.
Late last month, Morales said the AFP and PNP remained in the bracket of most corrupt institutions of the government.
The case involves the delivery of MKEK of 4,500 rounds and 1,000 rounds of 105mm howitzer ammunition with fuses for the Army and Navy, respectively.
The cargo was unloaded at Subic Port and delivered to the warehouse at Camp Aquino, Tarlac for the Army and Sangley Point, Cavite City for the Navy.
“I am not even sure if the Bureau of Customs has done internal investigation nor the Firearms and Explosives Office of the Philippine National Police conducted their own inquiry. On the part of the AFP, I doubt if they did their own investigation,” Maningding said.
“What is disturbing is the cognizance of US State Department of the violations committed by MKEK on [the] issue of fake Export License and possible unauthorized production of the US fuse,” Maningding said when asked for more details regarding the issue.
The controversial ammunition are currently being stored at the depot of the Northern Luzon Command at Camp Aquino in Tarlac. But because of the complaint filed by Maningding, it was reported earlier that Department of National Defense had advised the AFP leadership to put on hold the use of the ammunition.
Maningding said he was verifying reports that Irriberi has allegedly released a memo ordering both the Army and the Navy’s Technical Inspection and Acceptance Teams to accept the delivered items from MKEK-System Nomics.