Soldier's Pen
By BGen. Alexander Cabales (Ret.)
Of friends and luggages
We were surprised when a ranking officer of the
Scout Ranger contingent in Negros Island was the one who led a
"combat" patrol in the hinter barangays of La Castellana, Negros
Occidental sometime in the early 80's.
When we were second lieutenants then operating against the
Salvatorre fanatics in Central Negros Island as part of our test mission before
we can be declared as graduates of the regular scout ranger course. Normally, small unit operations are left to
the lieutenants and the sergeants because the ranking officers had better and
more important things to do.
Later we found out that the "combat" patrol was meant
to recover firearms whose locations were positively identified. The major wanted to take hold of those
firearms first so that he can keep for himself those that he fancy. He therefore had an ulterior motive in
leading the patrol.
Such was the case of Undersecretary Rico Puno who led a group
of policemen and other Interior and Local Government personnel in an attempt to
secure some vital documents believed to be in the possession of the late
Secretary Jesse Robredo. This becomes
highly suspicious because the job of securing an office could not be very
difficult and could be easily done even by a captain, unless Puno had a
personal interest in the purported vital documents. It was overkill because undersecretaries had
better things to do.
Undersecretary Puno even went to the extent of going to the
condominium unit of the late Robredo over and beyond what he was instructed to
do. Did he have any ulterior motive in
doing so? Was he looking for documents
that he would like to keep which would probably incriminate him of any
misdoings?
Of course we learned that the President quickly defended Puno
saying that he was just complying with his instructions to secure the papers of
Robredo. Despite the overkill, Puno's
action in the case of Robredo's office, for purposes of argument, may still be
considered legal because it was a government property and within the
responsibility of Puno.
However, the private residence of the Secretary was already
beyond the sphere of control of Puno, even that of the President. Good manners and protocol dictate that
Robredo's spouse needed to be duly notified before any attempt was made to
enter their home. It was only fortunate
that they were not let in by the caretaker of the condominium unit who first
asked the permission of Mrs. Robredo.
Why was Puno in a rush then forgetting good manners in the
process? Was there a threat by anybody
to get hold of the papers? The invasion
may be borne out of incompetence or ignorance of the sanctity of the home and
disrespect for the rights of the Robredo family or malicious intent on his
part.
So why would Robredo keep vital documents in his
condominium? Doesn't he trust his
underlings and other people in his department?
Perhaps not, because the DILG had a peculiar set-up. He had an undersecretary who reports directly
to the president and is beyond his control.
His home would therefore be a safer place to keep those documents.
Robredo's wife, Leni, didn't categorically say that Puno was
being investigated by her husband. She
simply said that her husband was doing some sensitive investigations.
Why then would Secretary Robredo be so secretive about it?
Naturally because it could have involved top level officials of
the DILG and the PNP otherwise, he could have delegated it to a top level
committee or to any of his undersecretaries unless they are themselves
involved.
This is not the first time that a close friend and ally of the
President was involved in a number of acts bordering on incompetence and graft
and corruption. These alleged
indiscretions, to say the least, of the resigned Puno, a shooting buddy, a
fellow Times Village resident and a fellow Tarlakeño, were hugging the front pages of the national
dailies.
In the case of the rifle purchases, there were details thereof
that placed the position of Puno in a questionable situation. He repeatedly
said that his role in the purchases was merely supervisory and that he merely
observed the proceedings but never intervened.
Yet it was he who gathered together the proponents or the dealers of the
rifles and attended the proceedings.
Accordingly, he went to Israel (where the firearms factory was)
on a vacation with his family (of all places to spend a vacation unless he is a
devote Catholic) yet he brought with him his executive assistant and at a time
that the members of Bids and Awards Committee of the PNP were also there. He said that by coincidence, he met a General
Santiago at the Airport who invited him to shoot rifles which he accepted
because he was a gun enthusiast himself.
What a way to spend a planned vacation with one's family!
Who was General Santiago then?
Probably nobody asked that question and tried to make a
connection. The guy was a retired Director of the PNP (or General as they are
sometimes addressed) who used to head the Special Action Force (SAF), the end
user of the rifles that will be bought from Israel. It was during his time as the commander of
the SAF that the initial plan and talks about the purchase were hatched.
Was it also a pure coincidence that he was in Israel at the
same time with the PNP Bids and Awards Committee and Puno?
The President also said that the purchase of the Glock pistols
worth PHP 2B was above board because these were not overpriced, and so it
seems. Everybody stopped talking about
it but what they didn't know is the usual marketing strategy of these gun
dealers. Like the soft drinks companies,
they also give one unit for free for every ten (10) units that you buy. Naturally, this "rebate" does not
go back to the government but to the hands that made the transaction
possible. Now we say that Puno et al
were clean.
Despite strong negative public perception on the integrity of
his friend Puno, our honest president still stood by him through thick and
thin. He remains confident that despite
the heavy luggage, his high public acceptability rating will continue to prop
him up. He was such a very good friend indeed who is willing to carry the
luggage and lend his good name just for his friends.
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