MANILA, Philippines?The Senate on Saturday stumbled on another alleged fund diversion scam in the Philippine National Police (PNP), this time involving the budget for the annual recruitment of new police officers.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said this ?PNP recruit scam? may have cost the government an estimated P700 million since 2005.

Santiago, chair of the foreign relations committee, said this budget allocated by Congress every year was a source of corruption and even ?pabaon? (going-away present) for police generals who are about to retire.

Funds not used for new recruits

Santiago raised this issue during the questioning of retired police comptroller Eliseo de la Paz at the Senate hearing yesterday during its investigation into the ?euro generals? controversy.

As Santiago told it, part of the budget for salaries of new recruits is never used because no hiring is done for perhaps six months. The money is not returned to the national coffers and goes to the underground retirement fund, she said.

She said the PNP is given the full budget from January to December to recruit young trainees for the organization.

?But they never [hire] these trainees until after six months or even one year. And they do not return the money, either,? she said.

Slush fund

?They keep [the money] for themselves in the PNP. I have estimated that from the year 2005 up to let?s say 2010, that would amount to nearly P700 million, just for one fund alone. What other secret funds in the PNP [do] they keep at their own disposal and exercise full discretion over?? said Santiago.

She theorized that the PNP may have declared these unused funds as savings and purportedly realigned them for ?another legitimate purpose.?

?But it could be a slush fund, an unknown secret fund from which they withdraw for personal reasons and for devious purposes,? she said.

According to Santiago, it was the usual practice in the police and military service that generals who are about to retire are secretly given additional money on top of the retirement benefits allowed by law.

The retiring PNP or Armed Forces chiefs usually expect junior officers to come up with a separate ?underground retirement fund? for them.

?That?s their going-away present. PMAyers know that,? she said, referring to graduates of the Philippine Military Academy.

Santiago said that aside from unused funds from the previous year?s budget, the PNP has other sources of funds.

Patrons

?They collect from their own patrons. In the PNP, from drug lords, jueteng lords and whoever they are protecting. Millions [of pesos] are given to them. For example, I am told that the AFP chief is given P50 million. So I suppose it must be with the PNP chief,? she said.

Police Chief Supt. Tomas Rentoy III, chief of the PNP budget division, explained that at the end of the year, the unutilized funds for recruitment can be requested from the budget department to be earmarked for ?payment of back-earned pensions, reimbursement and other allowances [of retired PNP members] which are not included in our budget.?

He could not say how much was allocated this year for the recruitment of new officers.

Santiago noted that every recruit is paid an average of P15,000 a month, or about P180,000 a year.

P623M unaccounted for

So if there are 3,500 recruits for the period from 2005 to 2010, she said the PNP has unspent funds amounting to P623 million.

?Here we?re talking of a P7-million scandal, [but] we have a fund of P623 million unaccounted for. Where does this money for policemen go? My theory is that this fund becomes secret PNP fund,? she said.

She said this secret fund could be a ready source of travel allowances and money-laundering.

Santiago said the fact that De la Paz did not spend any portion of the P6.9 million showed that there was no intention to spend it for contingencies, as the PNP claimed.

?It?s possible that you planned to go to Swirzerland to deposit it into your account or that of your superiors,? she told De la Paz.