CIVILIAN COMPTROLLER TO MANAGE PNP FINANCES, ERASE GRAFT
MANILA, November 1, 2004 (STAR) By Christina Mendez - The proposal of Philippine National Police chief Director General Edgar Aglipay to have a civilian manage the PNP’s finances will be a big leap in eradicating public perception of corruption in the police force, the PNP comptroller said yesterday.
Police Director Oscar Calderon said tapping a civilian to head "a separate body that will handle the fiscal management of the PNP" will erase the notion of collusion between PNP finance officers and suppliers.
"Any color of collusion will be erased, even the impression of favoritism (bata-bata) by the PNP chief and the syndication of processes in comptrollership," Calderon told The STAR in an interview.
"The PNP is civilian in character," Calderon explained. "So there will be no problem if a civilian manages the funds of the PNP. This will further professionalize the unit and even temptations (to engage in graft and corruption) will be eradicated."
Calderon said he will recommend to the PNP chief specific criteria in choosing a qualified civilian comptroller: He or she should be a holder of a master’s degree on fiscal management, has previously occupied related positions, and a certified public accountant.
"These qualifications will also allow the comptroller to have a wide grasp of fiscal management including the bidding process and other issues on the budget," Calderon said.
The 115,000-strong police force has an annual budget of about P30 billion, or almost half of the budget that goes to the Armed Forces.
At present, Calderon said the PNP, through the initiative of Aglipay, has started the conduct of a fiscal management course for senior police officers, and finance and budget officers in a bid to further professionalize the PNP’s comptrollership office.
The course will train and hold reviews for some 50 police officers on budget management.
PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said Aglipay will consult with the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the Commission on Audit (COA) if his proposal will be amenable under existing laws and regulations.
The directorate for comptrollership of the PNP is one of the 10 directorial staffs created pursuant to Resolution No. 92-36 of the Napolcom.
The functions of this office include providing advice to the PNP "on budgeting, accounting financial reporting, internal auditing and management improvement of the PNP."
"General Aglipay wants to discuss this move and consult it with Napolcom and the COA to determine if having a civilian comptroller at the PNP will indeed rid alleged corruption at the comptrollership," Bataoil said.
Once the PNP comptrollership is placed under civilian control, Calderon said other police officers can now focus more on their job as law enforcers in support of Aglipay’s move to put 85 percent of all police personnel on field assignments.
Under the present setup, the PNP Directorate for Comptrollership has under its unit the management division with resident accountant Tony Rettrato and a resident auditor from COA. Both are civilian personnel.
Calderon noted that other PNP units such as in medical and health services as well as legal division can be headed by civilians as well.
While some police officials welcomed Aglipay’s move, others expressed doubt over how long its purpose can be sustained.
"We all want the PNP to be free of graft and corruption (but) it will take a long time and beyond the term of General Aglipay, who only has about five months left in the service," a senior police officer told The STAR.
Another police official said retired police officers should not be considered for the post, saying it will not make any difference.
Aglipay’s move to "seriously study" the possibility of having a civilian comptroller who is not an active PNP personnel came after newly-installed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Efren Abu has abolished the comptrollership office.
Abu gave this directive as the military leadership parries accusations that corruption reigns in the military amid the multi-million scandal involving its former comptroller, Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.
Some PNP officials raised eyebrows on Abu’s move, saying he may only be "playing a new game" that will not necessarily address corruption in the AFP.
"We hope he is serious about it. The duties may just be transferred to another officer by creating a new office which would basically (have) the same (function)," an official said.
A ranking administration lawmaker also did not agree with Abu’s proposal, saying it would not solve the problem of festering corruption in the military.
Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra said the newly installed AFP chief could be unwittingly or knowingly "sidetracking" the allegations of widespread corruption in the military by making such a move.
He said abolishing or transferring the post of Office of the AFP deputy chief of staff for comptrollership (J-6) to civilian control would not solve the rampant corruption in the military because "either chiefs would be human."
"His (Abu) priority should be going after grafters and not minding whether they are his upperclassmen or juniors in the military," Mitra told The STAR. "He shouldn’t expect a honeymoon with Congress and the public because of recent developments."
Rest assured, he said Congress will always be watching "their every move because we represent public interest."
Mitra noted that Abu and former AFP chief Benjamin Defensor, who also supported the move to transfer the J-6 to civilian control, did not come from J-6 before reaching the top military post.
Other former AFP chiefs, particularly from 2001 to 2002, had stints in the J-6, he said.
In another development, Aglipay has announced that the Civil Service Commission and the Napolcom welcomed the PNP’s proposal for a one-year moratorium in the implementation of Civil Service Eligibility Examinations (CSEE), which is one of the pre-requisites in the promotion and transfer of senior police officers.
The PNP chief made the announcement during his inspection of Camp Tirso Gadar in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan last Saturday.
The agreed moratorium will last till September 2005, he said, drawing applause from Cagayan Valley police personnel.
Aglipay said the one-year moratorium will allow senior police officers with ranks of superintendent to senior superintendent to occupy key and sensitive posts in the police organization, depending on their performance and seniority.
The PNP chief initiated talks with Civil Service Commission and Napolcom officials over the past weeks to address the concern of hundreds of senior police officers who question Napolcom’s move to allow the CSC to formulate eligibility exams for police officers.
Majority of those who failed the CSC complained that the test was not "suited" for PNP personnel because the written exams comprised mostly of issues about government service, which they pointed out differ from the service given to the public by uniformed personnel.
According to Aglipay, the PNP has also urged Congress to amend the provisions of the PNP law barring promotions of police personnel absorbed from the defunct Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police.
He said there are 20,000 slots open for promotions in the PNP and urged qualified policemen to file their applications before the PNP promotions board. - With Paolo Romero
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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