Año tells new PNP chief Albayalde to prioritize SAF allowance mess

Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año told newly installed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde to prioritize the issue on unreleased subsistence allowance.

He was referring to the complaints regarding the failure of officials to distribute two years' worth of daily additional subsistence allowance (ASA) for the elite unit Special Action Force (SAF) amounting to around P58.849 million.

“This should be his first priority and will serve as litmus test on how he will carry out the internal cleansing program within the police organization,” Año said in a press release.

The DILG chief said Albayalde should “know firsthand the hardships of being part of the elite force of the PNP and should be able to act decisively on this issue.”

“He (Albayalde) is a former SAF commando and official so he knows the struggles of SAF and how they look forward to receiving additional benefits from the PNP,” Año said.

Año also urged the PNP to conduct its own fact-finding investigation in order to “ensure that the SAF allowance mess is an isolated case and to craft appropriate policies that will prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.”

“This should not happen again," he said. 

“Find a way on how they could  receive their allowances immediately,” he added.

Four former SAF officials are now the subject of a complaint before the Ombudsman over the alleged malversation of close to P60-million of funds that are meant for the daily additional subsistence allowance of  SAF troopers for two years.

Former and active SAF members filed complaints of malversation of public funds, plunder and administrative complaints for grave misconduct against former SAF chief Director Benjamin Lusad for allegedly failing to distribute two years' worth of subsistence allowance.

Lusad's former budget and fiscal officer Senior Superintendent Andre Dizon, Senior Police Officer 2 Maila Bustamante and Senior Police Officer 1 Jack James Irica were named as Lusad's co-accused in the complaint.

The complainants alleged that during Lusad's term as SAF chief from July 2016 to January 2018 they were only given their ASA for the months of January 2016 and January to July 2017.

Lusad, the current chief of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Southern Luzon, and Dizon, who serves as DIPO-SL Administrative and Resource Management Division chief, have already been relieved from their posts.

Bustamante and Irica, assigned in the PNP-SAF Finance, have also been relieved.

Each SAF commando is entitled to receive an additional daily subsistence allowance of P30 per day or P900 a month due to the dangerous nature of their operations.

This is over and above the regular subsistence allowance of P60 per day given to PNP uniformed personnel to support their meal requirement.

Retired PNP chief Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa earlier said that Dizon has returned P37 million which was given in two tranches, P10 million and then P27 million.

This was confirmed by SAF chief Director Noli Taliño who said P10 million was given on April 12, just a day before the plunder and malversation complaints were filed before the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices.

The P27 million, on the other hand, was returned on April 16.

Taliño said that some SAF commandos have already received the additional subsistence allowance as the distribution started on Monday.

He said that according to Lusad, the funds were used in "operations" and "activities of the group" instead of its intended purpose. — BAP, GMA News