Press Release
November 15, 2008

Transcript of Sen. Santiago's interview after the Senate hearing on the 'Euro Generals'

There is a very close parallelism with the Bolante case with the Euro generals case. The people who are likely to be accused in a criminal prosecution by the Ombudsman are obviously covering up for people higher up than themselves. That's why I keep repeating to General Dela Paz that he has to be prepared to go to jail, if he continues to operate in a misplaced sense of esprit de corps or out of a misguided sense of honor. He should not try to cover up for his superiors not only because it is a distorted sense of being a gentleman in a PMA sense but also because it will serve as a bad precedent in the campaign against corruption.

The superior officials can always bribe or threaten a middle-level official to take the rap for them, and in that way we will never be able to clean our country of corruption. I really just feel sorry for Gen. Dela Paz and I wish that he would change his mind because he could do the country a genuine service if he tells the truth.

There are so many inconsistencies in his testimony and those of his colleagues that altogether there is simply no credibility in the story they have created for themselves. For example, the most telling point there is that, according to the certification of the money changer, money started to be exchanged from pesos to euros before the actual release of the money as testified to by the PNP budget officer. This alone is indicative that the PNP fact-finding report is a cover-up report. It is intended to place guilt on Dela Paz and draw attention away from his superiors who may have issued the orders themselves, or at the very least participated in the scam.

I have already explained that the money which the PNP report calls "government funds" may not be legal government funds at all but maybe the result of another scam within the PNP which I call the PNP Recruit Scam. They are given money from January to December to recruit young trainees for the police but they will appoint these trainees until after six months to one year and will not return the money either. They will keep it for themselves in the PNP. So I have estimated that from 2005 up to, let's say, 2010, that would amount to P700 million pesos. Just one fund alone. Ano pa kayang mga pondo sa PNP na pinagtatago and that they keep at their own disposal and exercise full discretion over.

In the case of Dela Paz, bakit pa siya binigyan ng ganyang kalaking halaga para lang pang-extra baka may mangyari? Iyan ang tinatawag na contingency fund. Una, sabi ng COA, hindi legal magbigay ng contingency fund. At lahat ng mga public school teachers at iba pang empleyado ng gobyerno na nagpunta abroad alam iyon, walang tinatawag na contingency fund.

Pangalawa, maliban diyan, pagkatapos mag-swear under oath si Gen. Versoza in the first hearing na sabi niya "I swear under oath na ang pera na iyon ay para sa contingency purposes, pang-extra lang." Afterwards sumulat ba naman sa atin na "Puwede ba tayong mag-executive session kasi ang pera ay pambili ng military equipment." Kaya ayoko nang mag-executive session dahil ibig niyang sabihin nagsinungaling pala siya either in the first hearing or when he wrote his letter to me dahil hindi naman puwede na contingency fund na, pang-military equipment pa. Pagkatapos meron tayong kasunduan sa Amerika na kapag bumili ng military equipment, kailangan galing lang sa Amerika. Ngayon sasabihin nila na hindi naman nakalagay doon ay 'police equipment'. Maski totoo iyon, bakit si Gen. Versoza mismo ang nagsabi na puwede naming ipaliwanag sa inyo na ito ay pambili ng military equipment. So napakarami ng inconsistencies.

The saying in Latin when you are evaluating evidence as a trial judge is falsus in unum, falsus in pluribum. If you tell a lie at one point, the judge is justified in presuming that you are lying in all other points. For me, itong mga deklarasyon nila are all self-interested, that is to say it is all meant to protect certain people even at the cost of their own liabilities.

Dapat imbestigahan diyan si Gen. Versoza at si Sec. Puno dahil sa ilalim ng mga Administrative Orders ng Office of the President, sila lamang ang may karapatan na mag-apruba ng official travel. Kaya imbestigahan kung bakit sila nagbigay ng sang-ayon sa mga travels na ito na kuwestiyonable ang pagdala ng P700 million. Alalahanin niyo sa umpisa nitong eskandalo, itong sina Sec. Puno at Gen. Versoza ay nagsabi na wala naming eskandalo iyon, pang-emergency lang naman nila iyon, at ibabalik naman nila iyon. Ngayon, sinasabi nila sa kanilang fact-finding committee report na hindi sila nagbigay ng pahintulot maski kanino para sa contingency fund. Nagpalit ang kanilang sinabi. Kung palit-palit, iyan na ang sinasabi ko: falsus in unum, falsus in pluribum. Kaya kawawa itong si Dela Paz, nagiging scapegoat lang sa paningin ko.

What should be done to Gen. Versoza?

Dapat i-preliminary investigation dahil wala naman kaming ganyang kapangyarihan. Ang gusto ko ay i-preliminary investigation hindi lamang si Dela Paz, Gen. Rentoy at itong mga accountable officers, kundi isali na rin sa preliminary investigation rin si Sec. Puno at Gen. Versoza. Otherwise, the public will again complain. There will be a big public howl that we're only running after the small fish and the big fish keep getting away.

Should they both be suspended while being investigated?

Nasa Presidente iyan. It is not a finding of guilt. It is simply a way to prevent the superior officials from manipulating the situation and taking certain documents, or threatening or bribing certain people to testify in a certain way. They can do it out of a sense of delicadeza.

Should Dela Paz be held under house arrest?

Hindi na, dahil kawawa. Halos naiiyak na kanina. Nakikita niya ang kinabukasan niyang napakalabo dahil inaamin niya laha na kanya lahat ng kasalanan. Ewan ko kung natatakot siya o nagkamali lang siya, akala niya ay marangal na paraan. Pero nakikita mo na naiiyak na siya dahil naaalala niya ang mga anak niya at ang asawa niya. Humiling siya na huwag na lang pilitin na tumestigo ang asawa niya, pinagybigyan ko naman. Naaawa na lang ako sa kanya.

In fact, we issued an order right now the Sergeant-at-Arms ng Senate na gumawa na ng affidavit of recognizance na ang ibig sabihin ay lifted na ang warrant of arrest, kahit kailangan pa siya sa mga susunod pang mga hearing. Palayain na at pauuwin na siya basta mangako lang sila ng abugado niya na kung kailangan ay pumunta siya dito at huwag siyang umalis ng bansa hanggang matapos ang imbestigasyon.

Are the savings from the trainee fund used as a gift for retiring generals?

Maaari dahil alam ko sa militar at sa police meron silang sistema na kapag magre-retire na, hindi lamang pondo ng gobyerno ang ibibigay sa magre-retire na opsiyal, kundi may kostumbre sila na alam naman ng lahat ngunit lingid sa publiko na kailangan ang mga kasunod nila na mga ranking officials na mananatili ay gumawa ng so-called 'retirement fund'. Nangongolekta sila sa mga parokyano nila�mga drug lords, jueteng lords�at milyon ang binibigay sa kanila. Halimabawa sa AFP Chief of Staff, ang pagkasabi sa akin ay P50 milyon. Ganoon rin siguro sa PNP Chief.

Marami silang pribelehiyo pagkatapos nilang magretire. But the most appalling is that the institution itself gives them an 'underground' retirement fund. Of course this is all raised through extortion from those who have been protected during the term of that exiting official.

Siguro dine-deklara nila savings iyan at ire-realign. It is legally possible to realign it to another legitimate purpose but actually it could be a slush fund, an unknown secret fund from which they withdraw for personal reasons and for devious purposes.

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