AFP sacks military hospital officer for second time

Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, Jr. AFP PUBLIC AFFAIRS

MANILA, Philippines—The chief of the Philippine military ordered the relief of one of the officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center who was previously sacked for alleged involvement in anomalous procurement of medicines.

General Gregorio Pio Catapang, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, directed Colonel Benedicto Jovellanos, the acting commander of the AFPMC, to remove Lieutenant Colonel Ritchie Capulong from his additional duties inside the military hospital.

Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc, AFP Public Affairs Chief, said Capulong was put in a technical working group that was in need of his expertise in medical administration.

Capulong would be accounted at the AFP General Headquarters inside Camp Aguinaldo.

Cabunoc said Capulong was given an extra task, outside of his previous position as a Special Disbursing Officer at the AFPMC, to help an existing technical working group finish a project.

“What was given to him was an extra task as the technical working group was in need of his expertise, and Capulong has a wide experience on that field,” Cabunoc said.

Despite the task being remotely related to Capulong’s previous position, Catapang ordered that he be relieved of his existing duties.

Capulong, along with former AFPMC Chief Brigadier General Normando Sta. Ana, Major Neil Bugarin and Colonel Rogelio del Rosario were relieved on October 14 for an anomaly in the procurement of medicines for the AFPMC.

Also, Catapang ordered the Office of Internal Audit under Major General Domingo Tutaan to conduct a parallel investigation on the auditing practices of the AFPMC as the AFP is still waiting for the report of the Office of Ethical Standards and Public Accountability on the same matter.

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