President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday fired top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center over P1.4 billion in alleged ghost transactions, and ordered court-martial proceedings against them.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the President has ordered the relief of Brig. Gen. Edwin Leo Torrelavega, commander of the AFP Health Service Command, and Col. Antonio Punzalan, commander at the V. Luna Medical Center.
He said about 20 other officials and members of the AFP Medical Center will be relieved, but did not name them.
“I suppose the entire office that has to do with procurement will be relieved,” Roque said in a press briefing.
President Rodrigo Duterte “went ballistic” when he heard of the corruption at the military hospital, Roque said.
He said several high ranking officials and employees of the V. Luna Medical Center and the Health Service Command undertook anomalous purchases of equipment and engaged in fraudulent transactions, including ghost-purchasing, splitting of contracts to circumvent mandatory bidding processes, and creating fictitious suppliers with total contracts worth P1,491,570.00.
He said AFP Chief of Staff Carlito Galvez has already released a memorandum relieving the officials. The orders are to take effect immediately, he added.
The multi-billion-peso anomalies at the military hospital were brought to light by a whistleblower, Roque said.
This prompted the President to order the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission to investigate and also ordered the chief-of-staff to look into the matter.
Roque said there were many anomalous transactions involving hundreds of millions of pesos.
Galvez said the relief of the two ranking military officials was the result of two different but parallel investigations that he ordered conducted involving corruption allegations.
“The case will be tried under the military justice system and the accused will be proceeded against in court martial proceedings where they will be given the opportunity to be heard,” Galvez said.
“They will be charged with Violation of Article of War 95 (Fraud Against the Government). That is, however, without prejudice to: 1) Other infractions of the Articles of War that may have also been violated; and 2) The accused military personnel’s right to due process,” he said.
“As the AFP Chief of Staff and like our Commander-in Chief President Rodrigo Duterte, I am both saddened and offended by this report,” Galvez said.
“I am not prejudging the named officers and enlisted personnel as the would-be recommendations of the courts-martial will be submitted to me for approval,” he said.
