MANILA, Philippines?The embattled ex-comptroller of the Philippine National Police is homeward bound from Moscow, having been cleared with the help of ?a Russian brod? to leave after showing proof of the legality of a ?contingency fund.?

Russian customs officials have accepted Eliseo de la Paz?s explanation for carrying cash over the $3,000 limit for departing passengers on Oct. 11, PNP Director Jaime Caringal on Saturday said by phone from Moscow.

Caringal, the police regional director of Zamboanga Peninsula, said De la Paz himself and their wives were booking their flight to Manila.

?Basta pauwi na kami (We?re on our way home),? he said repeatedly without specifying their return date. ?[The customs officials] were very, very satisfied.?

Caringal said he was with De la Paz during the Friday meeting with the customs officials. He said his group had been issued new visas to replace the ones that expired on Oct. 11, the day they were to leave Russia.

Caringal and De la Paz were part of a PNP delegation that attended the 77th Interpol General Assembly in St. Petersburg on Oct. 7-10. Cynthia Verzosa, the wife of PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa, represented her husband in the traditional socials.

De la Paz was barred from boarding his plane by airport customs agents after he was found carrying the cash in excess of the outbound limit.

The other members of the delegation went on their way, but Caringal stayed behind with De la Paz as officials of the Philippine Embassy in Moscow and others in Manila prepared the documents that would prove that the cash had come from legal sources.

Caringal and De la Paz are 1976 graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Russian ?brod?

De la Paz, who had been named disbursing officer of P6.93 million in cash as ?contingency fund? for the PNP trip, presented the documents to the customs agents at 12 noon on Friday (Moscow time). The papers included a travel authority and proof of legitimate foreign currency exchange.

?They called us up [and told us] to go to their office. We had a lawyer-interpreter, a Russian ?brod? in [the Freemasonry], who helped interpret from English to Russian and Russian to English,? Caringal said.

?It took less than an hour. What took time was typing [De la Paz?s statement],? he said.

Officials in Manila had earlier explained that the PNP delegation was given the multimillion-peso ?contingency fund? to cover unexpected expenses during the trip.

But the National Police Commission (Napolcom), the approving office for official travels, said the PNP had declared a disbursement of P2.3 million, only a third of the amount that De la Paz was said to have carried in cash all the way from Manila.

News of the Moscow incident set off a chain reaction from Congress, the Office of the Ombudsman and Napolcom, which all expressed an intention to investigate the matter.

Chief Supt. Nicanor Bartolome, speaking for the PNP, said it was ?transparent and open to any probe.?

Travel ban

As a result of the controversy, PNP chief Verzosa has ordered a suspension of all foreign travel by police personnel pending a review of policies, guidelines and procedures.

On Friday in La Trinidad, Benguet, Verzosa said the travel ban would be lifted soon.

?It will not take long because we also have to attend seminars and conventions,? he told reporters. ?They are part and parcel of establishing international relations and keeping abreast of advancements in policing and establishing relations on regional and international concerns, especially terrorism.?

Yesterday at the PMA?where he and his wife attended the recognition rites for 269 freshman cadets of the PMA Bagwis Class of 2012?Verzosa said the money that De la Paz was carrying might have included cash advances of officials from other agencies who joined the Philippine delegation to the Interpol assembly.

He said the investigation that he ordered would determine why De la Paz had to carry cash and not traveler?s checks.

?It depends on the participants or the delegates. It has been a practice even by civilians?you bring along your personal money, aside from the money [allocated for you] by your institutions,? Verzosa said.

He added: ?That will be one of the things we need to discuss pertaining to the reevaluation of [PNP travel policies].

?We are looking at the size of the contingent, [which was] not composed only of PNP officers. There are three [representatives] from the Philippine Center for Transnational Crimes (PCTC), three from the Bureau of Immigration and three from the National Bureau of Investigation.?

Not a junket

According to Verzosa, the head of the delegation was not a PNP officer but a retired police director, Rolando Garcia, who is in charge of the PCTC.

He said the trip was not a junket.

?The participants in that Interpol convention that is held once a year exceeds 1,000, and the participating nations are more than 100 ? There are bilateral agreements, and I was informed by [Director Romeo] Ricardo, who is our director for plans, that there are even equipment displays, exhibits of law enforcement materials ? There are many activities,? Verzosa said.

He said the bilateral ties that the government was aiming for involved terrorism, concerns on human trafficking and prostitution, illegal immigration and illegal drugs.

Corruption

He also said the ban on foreign trips did not cover ?training and those that are related to our bilateral and multilateral relations and our commitment with foreign governments.?

Verzosa dismissed talk that the controversy had implied corruption in the PNP.

While his predecessors had also waged a war against corruption, Verzosa said his administration would attack corruption ?by reforming the overall institutional development? and not just attention-grabbing issues like ?kotong? (extortion).

During his meeting with Cordillera police officials at Camp Bado Dangwa in La Trinidad on Friday, Verzosa said the PNP was ready to face any investigation and would submit its records to the Commission on Audit.

?We are not justifying [any wrongdoing] and we will [provide] the documents to support [any probe],? he said.

Asked by the Philippine Daily Inquirer why PNP officials? wives had joined the trip to Russia, Verzosa said the women were traveling on their own.

?Even you, you can be with us on your own,? he told reporters.