Philippine official: military graft staggering

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Philippine official: military graft staggering
March 23, 2011

MANILA, Philippines—A Philippine defense official said Wednesday that an ongoing investigation has shown that "staggering" amounts of military funds have been lost to corruption in the past and safeguards would be reinforced to prevent such massive losses.

Corruption, long entrenched in Philippine society, is an especially explosive issue in the inadequately equipped and underfunded military and has sparked several rebellions by disgruntled troops in the past 25 years.

In the latest corruption scandal to rock the 126,000-strong military, former military budget officer Lt. Col. George Rabusa testified before the Senate in January that three former military chiefs of staff pocketed millions of dollars in funds intended for combat, intelligence, troop salaries and a military hospital.

Philippine funds for joint military exercises with U.S. troops and U.N. reimbursements for expenses incurred by Filipino peacekeeping troops abroad were also allegedly cut to fill a contingency kitty, from which the generals stole massive amounts of money, according to Rabusa.



Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2011/03/23/philippine_official_military_graft_staggering/

[Citizen Worker]

1. With a $1 trillion budget the Philippines is a piker compared to US!