by LTSG ANTONIO F TRILLANES IV

FORMS AND LOCI OF CORRUPTION

CORRUPTION DEFINED
Corruption is "defined as a dysfunctional and pathological act that negates the accomplishment of its constitutional mandate of promoting public interest" (Sosmena 1999, 6). "It is the misuse of a public office for personal gain". (Klitgaard 1995)

Corruption may be categorized in two ways: individualized or systemic (Carino 1985, 15). Individual corruption is where a person performs a secret moneymaking act in relation to his duties as public official or government employee. While systemic corruption is committed in an agency where "corruption has become so regularized and institutionalized that organizational supports back wrong-doing and actually penalizes those who live up to the old norms" (Caiden 1977, 306). It is "demonstrated when bureaucrats and clients can describe the same illegal process, including such details as bribery rates per service and the way these are shared among the members of the syndicate throughout the agency. Those with 'initiative' and 'daring' share the largesse with their colleagues with less opportunities, thus engulfing everyone in an administrative culture that tolerates, even idolizes, the fruits of corruption". (Carino 1985, 15)

LOCI OF CORRUPTION
The loci of corruption in the Navy are found in two distinct areas: in operational activities, which are ship-based and in administrative and support activities, which are shore-based. Ship-based activities include individual Navy ship activities and Naval Task Forces (NTF) directly involved in ship operations. Shore-based activities, meanwhile, include operations or functions of the various staff/support units such as personnel, intelligence, logistics, finance, training, etc.. Under these are the various forms of corruption, which are not necessarily peculiar to each.

Ship-based Corruption

Direct bribery — "Any public officer who shall agree to perform an act constituting a crime, in connection with the performance of his duties, in consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present received by such officer, personally or through mediation of another..." (Art 210 of the Revised Penal Code 1987)

Case illustration # 1
On or about 1600H of 07 June 1995, while patrol ship PS1 was anchored off Sacol Island, Zamboanga and conducting a naval blockade against Abu Sayyaf Group reportedly hiding on the said island, a medium-sized lancha was sighted suspiciously steaming near their ship. Upon sensing its possible hostile intentions, the crew of PS1 signaled it to come alongside. The lancha was inspected and it yielded P11 million worth of smuggled goods. At the same time, 2 Navy patrol crafts were also sighted approaching the lancha but were observed to have reversed their course when it unintentionally went near PS1.

During interrogation aboard PS1, the master patron confessed that they were hired to transport the goods from Sandakan, Malaysia to a designated place near the coast of Zamboanga City. They were further instructed to rendezvous with Navy patrol crafts that will escort them to the drop-off point.

The lancha and its crew were then apprehended and its goods were confiscated.

This special "escort" arrangement is common to the small patrol crafts assigned in Naval Forces South. The personnel assigned in these crafts are particularly vulnerable to bribes since they are the workhorses of the fleet that conduct MARLEN patrols. The bribe package includes a monthly rice and cash incentives for the crew plus repair expenses for the craft. A utility boy is also provided who also doubles as courier in behalf of the smuggler.

Case illustration # 2
On Aug 1999, a patrol gunboat (PG1) along with three other patrol crafts received a directive from NTF61 to conduct naval blockade/MARLEN patrols at designated areas in Sulu Sea, several n.miles off Jolo Is. Also contained in the directive was an intelligence report stating that there will be an attempt that evening to smuggle in assorted firearms and explosives to the island. PG1 and the other crafts then proceeded as ordered and vigilantly kept watch over their designated areas where the Muslim extremists were supposed to pass as stated in the directive. The following morning, the PN boats returned to port empty handed. A few days later, the NTF61 operations officer invited fellow officers to a drinking spree. There he openly bragged that he just got a payoff amounting to P100,000.00 from a known big-time smuggler. The payoff was for letting the smugglers pass through a few nights ago without being apprehended by ensuring that their sea lanes were cleared of Navy patrol boats. This he did by directing all patrol boats to proceed to their designated areas far away from these sea lanes.

It is common knowledge for intelligence operatives that only small-time smugglers would dare to dash their way through the waters of the South. Their merchandise are often blue seal cigarettes, ukay-ukay or small quantities of lumber. However, most of them are armed with machine guns and sometimes have armed escorts. On the other hand, big-time smugglers, pirates and bandits (including the Abu Sayyaf) will never venture out into the Philippine waters unless they are given "clearance" by the Navy, Customs and PNP personnel (the Navy mole in these transactions is usually the operations officer of the NTF). They would not risk losing their valuable merchandise, which include arms, explosives, drugs and other contrabands, to a crusading Navy captain patrolling the high seas. Another given fact is that the bulk of the arms supply of the MILF are sea-borne. MILF Commanders use big-time smugglers as fronts to conduct their transshipment operations. This form is also common in Quezon province where illegal logging is rampant and in the Northern coasts of Luzon where all forms of smuggling are being conducted.

Extortion — a crime "committed by means of intimidation of persons, that is, by extorting money from a person. In cases where a law enforcer has apprehended a person committing a crime and the officer demands money from the culprit as the price for not arresting or prosecuting him, even if the latter is willing to give money, there is nevertheless some element of intimidation because of the threat of impending arrest or prosecution. (Aquino 1987, 427)

Case illustration # 3
On or about 1900H of 14 May 1999, the Commanding Officer (CO) of a patrol gunboat (PG2) assigned in Davao, received an intelligence report stating that a known smuggler would attempt to smuggle contrabands that evening to the southern coast of Davao. Immediately, PG2 was off to sea to conduct patrols to intercept the unknown craft. A few hours later, PG2 picked-up a radar contact a few miles off their position. As the patrol gunboat approached, the crew noticed that boat was unlighted yet it was running at a steady speed, an obvious indication of a smuggling activity. PG2 then overtook the suspected smuggling boat and conducted inspection. The boat yielded contrabands worth at least P2 million.

After the inspection, the patron was invited inside PG2 for interrogation. Present during the investigation were the CO, Executive Officer (EXO), Chief Master At Arms (CMAA) and the patron of the boat. Upon being seated in the wardroom, the CO said to the patron "Didiretsohin na kita, magbigay ka ng P100,000.00 at pakakawalan kita." The patron haggled for a while but eventually agreed. He then went back to his boat and after a few minutes, returned to PG2. The patron gave a bag to the CO, who then counted the money inside. Satisfied with the transaction, the CO ordered the boat to be released. The CO then went inside his room with the bag in hand.

This is a classic example of individual corruption as defined by Dr Carino. Often done by the extreme scalawags of the Navy, which are not few.

Fraud Against Government (Pilferage) — "Any person subject to military law who steals, embezzles, knowingly and willfully misappropriates, applies to his own use or benefit, or wrongfully or knowingly sells or disposes of any ordnance, arms, equipment, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money, or other property of the government furnished or intended for the military services thereof." (Article of War Nr 95 1938)

Case Illustration # 4
On March 1995, the CO of a patrol gunboat PG3 received a directive from the Naval Task Force 71(NTF71) to conduct MARLEN patrol around the waters off Saranggani. The CO then reprovisioned and refueled to full tank capacity for the protracted mission. After refueling, PG3 left port. However, when they were already out at sea, instead of conducting MARLEN patrols as directed, the CO instructed the crew to moor their patrol boat to a payaw or fish marker. After securing their patrol boat to the payaw, The CO then gave orders to have the main engines shut off. During this time, the CO was periodically reporting to NTF71 that his craft was continuously patrolling the designated area. After four days of being moored to the payaw, PG3 went back to port. The CO then reported the negative result of his patrol to the NTF71 Commander and then made a phone call to a contact. Early morning the next day, a motor launch went alongside PG3. After a few hours, the motor launch left but not after siphoning 10,000 liters of fuel saved by PG3 during the operation and paying the CO P60,000.00 as payment at P6/liter.

Case illustration # 5
On October 1999, the CO of patrol ship PS2, went to the Petron Bulk Plant in Cagayan de Oro to make a "special" arrangement regarding the delivery of fuel to his ship. He wanted Petron to give him P60,000.00 in cash instead of delivering the 10,000 liters of fuel his ship had requested. That way he added that the Petron station would even earn some more from the transaction. He assured Petron that the ship would receive the "ghost" delivery accordingly. The CO thought that since he over-declared his ship's fuel consumption, he had a fuel savings of 10,000 liter and this would cover for the 'ghost' delivery. Intelligence operatives got wind of the transaction and an investigation soon followed. When the verdict was out and the information was confirmed, the unscrupulous CO was "punished" by the Headquarters by assigning him to another ship of the same category.

Almost 2 out 4 Navy vessels engage or have engaged in these types of malpractice. These occur in all geographical areas of operation, even in Manila Bay. Some CO's try to justify this act by claiming that the money generated goes to ship operations or for morale and welfare activities. But for most, it is simply to sustain their lifestyle. Worse, some CO's sell the fuel to the very same smugglers they are supposed to apprehend.

Shore-based Corruption

Malversation — "Any public officer who, by reason of the duties of his office, is accountable for public funds or property, shall appropriate the same, or shall take or misappropriate or shall consent, or through abandonment or negligence, shall permit any other person to take such public funds, wholly or partially, or shall otherwise be guilty of the misappropriation or malversation of such funds or property..."(Art 217 Revised Penal Code 1987)

Case illustration # 6
In 1999, patrol gunboat PG4 underwent major repairs that had a budget cost of P50 million. While the vessel was drydocked in Navotas, the Executive Officer found out that the steel plates placed on the hull were below the specifications stated in the work order. He then reviewed the other areas of the work package and discovered that most of the spare parts being installed during the overhauling of the main engines were used ones coming from another gunboat of the same class that has been mothballed. Thus, when he computed the actual cost incurred by the contractor, the total repair package should have been only P5 million. The EXO then went to the Headquarters to complain about the repair irregularities and the grossly overpriced contract, he was surprised to find out that the repair had already been accepted by the Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee six months before. Which means that the contractor had been paid even while the repair was still unfinished. Six months later, PG4 completely bogged down right after a send-off ceremony for deployment. It is now programmed for another major repair.

Case illustration # 7
On 22 December 1999 during the Command Christmas Party, the Commander of the Philippine Fleet distributed P450.00 each to all the personnel in his Command (For a total number of personnel at above 4,000, this would compute to roughly P2 million). Then on January 2000, the Patrol Force (a major unit of Philippine Fleet) prepared documents for the "ghost" repair of an already operational patrol gunboat amounting to P3 million apparently as payment for the cash advanced by a favored dealer during the said Christmas party.

Case illustrations # 6 and 7 will show why only 38% of the total naval assets are operational. For the Navy top brass to say that the Navy has few patrol boats is because of their own undoing. Had these funds for repair (almost P350 million in the present budget) been used properly all these years, there would have been more ships to patrol our waters. A patrol boat with a speed of 20 knots is capable of patrolling an area of almost 3,000 sq n.mi. in one hour. Several boats positioned properly, could project a Naval presence in the vast Philippine waters that could effectively deter outlaws.

Case illustration # 8
The Office of the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff for Personnel, O-N1, among other functions, is the staff in charge of personnel accounting. It listed the total number of active military personnel (officers and EP) at 19,714. This total excludes those assigned in GHQ. On the other hand, the Philippine Navy Finance Center (PNFC) is the unit in charge of providing the pay and allowances of personnel. In the PNFC list, the total number of personnel (excluding those assigned in GHQ since their salaries are handled by the AFP Finance Center) is 20,496 or 782 more than O-N1's total. Simply put the Navy is paying 782 personnel whose whereabouts are unknown.

These "ghost" personnel came from those who have left the service either through attrition, AWOL, retirement, death, etc., and have not been dropped deliberately from the payroll.

Case illustration # 9
All officers assigned in the Headquarters of the Philippine Navy (HPN) get an average of P3,000.00 each monthly as "incentive pay". To afford this, the HPN prepare documents for "ghost deliveries" also known as "conversion". At 193 officers, this would amount to almost P600,000.00 a month.

This is done in almost all major units that have the authority to procure. Other variations of this are over-pricing, under delivery and substitution. This is easily done because of the collusion between dealers and all those involved in the procurement process. The COA Auditors give a blind eye to these irregularities because they receive commissions equivalent to 1-2 percent of the total amount in the purchase orders. A PCIJ report further states that "After 1991, negotiated deals became the norm, with the AFP going straight to the President for whatever big purchase it wants to make. Nearly all these deals turned disadvantageous- if not downright disastrous- to troops in the end...officers say that corruption has become so pervasive in the AFP that the crooks in their midst have evolved a vocabulary of their own. For instance, one colonel said, 'cost of money' means 'the amount a proponent pays to facilitators for making his dreams come true'. 'Cleared money', meanwhile, is 'money (procurement budget) that has been converted (to other uses), which one could spend anywhere.' Put another way, it is 'laundered money', he said. Contractors for their part said that the evolving consensus among them is that some service commands are more corrupt than others. Their integrity meter puts the Army on top, followed by General Headquarters, and then the Navy. The Air Force ranks last, they said, for allegedly being the most corrupt." Overpricing "in the Navy is about 100 to 200 percent."(Mangahas 2001)