Air Force chopper deal ‘disturbing,’ says Senate blue ribbon chair

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Teofisto Guingona III said he found “disturbing” the revelations made by a whistleblower on the allegedly anomalous P1.2 billion deal for 21 refurbished combat choppers for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

The chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee said the affidavit submitted by Rhodora Alvarez, an agent of the winning bidder, contained “serious and potentially damaging allegations.”

Guingona issued a statement on Tuesday, June 16, noting Alvarez’s allegations against two Department of National Defense (DND) officials and an officer of the Philippine Air Force.

• DND Undersecretary for Finance Fernando Manalo
• DND Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez
• PAF Brigadier General Conrado Parra, chair of the Technical Working Group.

Alvarez claimed that the contract was crafted to make sure that a particular company bagged the deal – the joint venture of US-based Rice Aircraft Services Incorporated (RASI) and Canada-based Eagle Copters Ltd.

Yet, RASI was only able to deliver 7 choppers. Four had engine troubles within 3 months since their delivery.

Alvarez also dragged DND Secretary Voltaire Gazmin into the deal, saying he was promised 7% commission or about P80 million. She admitted that she didn’t deal with him directly, however.

PAF chief Lieutenant General Jeffrey Delgado wrote Gazmin last year to refuse acceptance of the choppers because RASI wanted to deliver them without the necessary gun mounts. But the DND supposedly amended the terms of the contract to allow a separate delivery of the choppers and the gun mounts.

The DND is on top of procuring assets for the different services in the Philippine military, but officers are also involved in determining technical specifications of the needed hardware, scrutinizing the qualifications of bidders, and inspecting assets upon delivery.

Guingona highlighted the supposed e-mail exchanges between Alvarez and Parra, where they discussed the delivery and payment schemes.

“I just don’t know how far they can go in bending rules,” Alvarez quoted Parra in her affidavit.

Guingona vowed to get to the bottom of the issue and hold parties accountable if Alvarez’s allegations are proven true. 

“I am giving DND officials and executives of RASI ample opportunity to refute the allegations hurled against them in the Alvarez affidavit,” he said.

“To safeguard their money, the selection of suppliers must be guided by and based on a process and set rules and not on the whims of individuals who bend the rules and corrupt the process to favor a supplier,” he added. – Rappler.com