MANILA, Philippines — Overshadowed by the revelations in congressional inquiries of corruption in the high echelons of the military is the raft of measures implemented by the Armed Forces precisely to strengthen its financial management system and make it tamper-proof.
The reforms, instituted in 2005, were an offshoot of the investigation of the Feliciano Commission into the Oakwood Mutiny the previous year.
The uprising of junior officers brought to the surface the simmering discontent among the lower ranks who were appalled at the brazen corruption of their superiors.
“Since 2005, the military has gradually but effectively and continually taken on several reforms crafted in its immediate response to the result of the investigation done by the Feliciano Commission, an investigating body formed in 2004 as a result of the Oakwood Mutiny. Notable is that the following innovations was also in response to the alleged misuse of AFP funds by the then Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership, J6," the Armed Forces of the Philippines observed in a paper.
One of the first steps taken was to abolish the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership, J6, and its tasks distributed among four offices – the Resource Management Office (RMO), the Management and Fiscal Office (MFO), the Office of the Internal Auditor (OTIA), and the Accounting Center.
The RMO advises the AFP Chief of Staff on matters relating to force structure management, program and budget development, and capability development for greater efficiency in running the resources.
The MFO focuses on budget execution and implementation, management control or pre-audit, information and cash management.
The OTIA completes inspections and compliance monitoring, providing the Chief of Staff an independent and objective assurance on the adequacy and soundness of the internal control system.
The Accounting Center, headed by a civilian chief accountant, does the accounting for the GHQ units and offices, and prepares and submits quantitative financial reports needed in the decision-making of authorities concerned.
The diffusion of the processes of budget-handling is a significant difference from when budget operation functions were solely supervised by J6. "It now has more safeguards to prevent attempts to tamper with rules and regulations," the AFP noted.
Apart from abolishing J6, the military has also done a number of systems changes, including:
The implementation of the Multi-Year Capability Planning System (MYCaPS)
MYCaPS is a capability-based, rather than threat-based, planning system which intends to promote cost-effectiveness and efficiency in the utilization of resources, and, whenever possible, apply savings to address capability gaps and ensure that proposals are financially affordable.
The Annual Plan and Budget (APB) submitted by specific units and offices have important bearing with MYCaPS. It decreases the tendency of interference from headquarters in the plans and programs of its subordinate units.
The Billing and Fund Transfer System
This policy makes certain there is proper billing and corresponding transfer of funds to the different AFP units, overseeing the preparation of monthly and quarterly billing, fund transfer, and disbursement statements. This results to orderly transactions and provides reconciliation of such statements in order to validate that funds are well-distributed and are utilized on their intended purpose sans intrusion of fraudulent transactions.
The Special Distributing Officers (SDO) and Cash Advance System
The SDOs guarantees that disbursements of funds adhere with the Annual Procurement Plan, a list of needed commodities prepared one year in advance, and that expenditures do not exceed the Maximum Cash Accountability.
The SDO ensures the accurate inspection of all procured items.
The Cash Advance System, on the other hand, sets the limitations on availing cash advances, a departure from the practice of conversion, making the system notably less vulnerable to abuse.
Rules and Regulations in the Grant, Utilization, and Liquidation of Inter-Agency Transferred Funds to the AFP
Aside from those appropriated in the AFP, there are funds from source agencies outside the military which are allocated for certain projects involving units of the Armed Forces.
These rules and regulations define the limitations of the use of fund transfers upon identifying the responsibilities of the units and offices in a specific project.
Creation of Bids and Awards Committees (BAC) and the Procurement Service in the AFP
The BAC handles the canvassing and procurement of the least pricey facilities, machines, supplies, among others, for the General Headquarters (GHQ) and the major services.
It puts together the preferred specifications of necessary products and releases an advertisement to invite more qualified suppliers from which the committee shall select the lowest bidder without sacrificing the quality of the products and while promoting transparency, impartiality, efficiency and accountability in the bidding process.
This helps eliminate the wrong practice of conversion and shall eventually rid corruption.
Last year alone, the BAC generated a substantial amount of savings of more than P500 million, according to the AFP.
Procedures and Guidelines in the Approval of the Utilization of Trust Receipts
The procedures and guidelines serve as an outline of all income-generating activities in the AFP and define the nature and proper utilization of trust receipts.
Guidelines in the Utilization and Monitoring of the United Nations Reimbursement Funds (UNRF)
The UNRF remittances to the AFP are properly booked and accounted by units and offices and the utilization of such are ensured to adhere with the accounting, auditing, and disbursement rules and regulations of the AFP.
Analyses of funds dispensed on foreign deployment and processes prior to and succeeding it are made without shortcuts.
Guidelines in the Receipt and Utilization of Title X RP-US Balikatan Exercise Fund
These lay out clear procedures of the funds allotted to the training and education of the soldiers in relation to the bilateral exercises. It discourages collusion by eliminating the monopoly of utilization by a single unit since there are several players involved in receiving, dispensing, accounting, and auditing of the funds.
The Defense System of Management (DSOM)
The DSOM, composed of four mutually supporting components, the Defense Strategic Planning System (DSPS), the Defense Capability Assessment and Planning System (DCAPS), the Defense Acquisition System (DAS), and the Defense Resource Management System (DRMS), provides a coherent framework for conducting and managing the acquisition effort.
Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr., AFP public affairs office (PAO) chief, said the Armed Forces does not turn its back on changes and is open to suggestions of changes as long as they contribute to the strengthening the strong military organization.
Burgos added the Armed Forces "fervently supports the Aquino administration’s pledge of right conduct and good governance, the promise of daang matuwid (the straight and honest path) includes a commitment to genuine public service, transparency, and an assurance that, when corruption threatens to mold itself and consume the nation’s stakeholders, the government shall steadfastly stand in its way."
"In line with this, the paramount thrust of the AFP is military operations towards the decimation of threats to national security. The AFP, to achieve this, has assessed and recalibrated its internal security operations plans, whose priority is to hamper armed insurgencies through “winning the peace rather than defeating the enemy," he added.
Burgos went on to say that the AFP respects the primacy of peace processes. The implementation of the new Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) endorses the AFP’s “Whole of Nation” approach through primarily prioritizing the people and their rights and the winning the peace instead of killing the enemy. It deploys the best commanders and welcomes necessary amendments to ensure the accomplishment of the administration’s goal of daang matuwid.
"The AFP offers complete disclosure of financial transactions and trust in its constant collaborative work with other government and non-government bodies to accomplish its unremitting vision of delivering a lasting peace and stability in the country," he said.
Gen. Ricardo A. David Jr., AFP Chief of Staff, gave this assurance: “As the Chief of Staff I am moved by what has happened over the past few days. Nevertheless, rest assured that your AFP will seriously take these challenges to reflect and continue to improve our system for the benefit of the Filipino people with the help of our esteemed legislators.”
source: Manila Bulletin
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