AFP Commissary closes 2 private bank accounts

The Armed Forces of the Philippines Commissary and Exchange Service (AFPCES) had agreed to close its accounts in two private banks that accounted for 83.8 percent of its deposits after being called out by the Commission on Audit (COA).

In its 2017 annual audit report, COA cited the AFPCES’s disclosure that it was closing its accounts with Philippine National Bank and Bank of the Philippine Islands and transferring these to the Philippine Veterans’ Bank, an authorized government depository.

The COA said AFPCES had deposited cash in the private banks without the Department of Finance’s approval.

AFPCES, established in 1972, runs eight convenience stores, six drugstores, two gasoline stations and 26 provincial outlets nationwide. —Vince F. Nonato