MANILA, Philippines—Away from the eyes of the media, six police officials who traveled to Russia last month Monday heeded their chief’s orders and returned P1.32 million in travel allowances.
The amount was part of the P2.19 million released to an eight-member Philippine National Police (PNP) delegation to an Interpol assembly. The allowances were on top of the P6.9 million that customs officials in Moscow had seized from Eliseo de la Paz, then a PNP director and comptroller.
The PNP Finance Service Monday collected refunds from De la Paz (now retired), Deputy Director Generals Emmanuel Carta (the PNP’s second top man and head of delegation) and Ismael Rafanan, Directors Romeo Ricardo and Jaime Caringal, and the group’s designated aide-de-camp, Supt. Elmer Pelobello.
Chief Supt. Nicanor Bartolome, PNP spokesperson, said De la Paz, Carta, Ricardo and Caringal each handed over P274,000, the authorized amount for travel, accommodation and subsistence allowance during the 77th Interpol General Assembly in St. Petersburg.
Pelobello returned P150,000 and Rafanan, P74,000, but both promised to return the balance within the month.
“This is a very good development ... in the spirit of transparency and due process,” said Director Leopoldo Bataoil, chief of the PNP’s Directorate for Police Community Relations.
Personal check
Bataoil said De la Paz issued a personal check worth P274,070 to the PNP.
The refund followed the PNP’s receipt of a total P374,070 from Police Directors Silverio Alarcio Jr. (operations) and German Doria (human resource and doctrine development) last week. Silverio returned the full amount released to him while Doria handed over P100,000.
“All the concerned eight police officers already complied with the directive of the chief PNP (Director General Jesus Verzosa) to return the cash advance of 274,040,” said Bartolome at a press briefing Monday.
Reimbursement
The officers may still, however, be reimbursed for official expenses upon showing receipts during auditing, the PNP chief said.
“Should anyone of them feel they are entitled to reimbursement of the travel expenses, they may file the corresponding claims following the normal accounting and auditing procedures,” Verzosa said in a statement.
Illegal release of P6.9 million
The funds were returned to Supt. Samuel Rodriguez, disbursing officer for the intelligence directorate whom Verzosa said could be liable for the illegal release of a separate P6.9 million in intelligence funds to De la Paz.
Questioned why, Bartolome said: “Because he was the one who issued or disbursed, that’s why it should be returned to him.”
Criminal charges
Verzosa ordered last week that criminal charges be filed against De la Paz, Rodriguez, Finance Service head Chief Supt. Orlando Pestańo and Senior Supt. Tomas Rentoy, chief of the budget division.
The Senate committee on foreign relations has found the entire PNP delegation to the Interpol assembly guilty. Four spouses, including Marife de la Paz, accompanied the delegation.
In a draft report signed by its chair Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the committee recommended after just one hearing the criminal prosecution of the eight-man PNP delegation for graft, malversation of public funds, and violation of the anti-money laundering law and banking rules.
Arrest warrant
De la Paz snubbed the hearing despite a subpoena, prompting Santiago to order his arrest. De la Paz has questioned before the Supreme Court the Santiago committee’s jurisdiction over the issue.
In all, the PNP has collected P1.69 million of the total P2.19 million, with at least P498,000 in receivables expected within the month. The PNP, however, did not show the Finance Service’s receipts for the refunds.
Still waiting for money
The P6.9-million cash, now the subject of a case the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is building up, was found in De la Paz’s possession on his way out of the Moscow International Airport on Oct. 11. Moscow customs authorities detained De la Paz and confiscated the undeclared amount.
The PNP is still waiting for Moscow to wire the money back to its account, Bartolome said.
“We are still waiting for 105,000 euros. Hopefully, within the week, we could already account for this,” he said.
Bartolome said the CIDG was expected to submit on Tuesday its recommendations to the Ombudsman, building on findings of the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) that investigated the fund release.
The DIDM recommended to Verzosa that charges be filed against those involved in the release.
Supt. Isagani Nerez, chief of the PNP-CIDG National Capital Region, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the unit was told Thursday to forward to the Ombudsman its report on the incident for possible prosecution of De la Paz, Rodriguez, Pestańo and Rentoy.
“Instead of the PNP-CIDG initiating the complaint, we will forward the report to the Ombudsman through a transmittal letter and it will take over the case,” Nerez said.
