Nais ng vice chairman ng House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries na i-freeze ang bank accounts at iba pang liquid assets ng matataas na opisyal ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center, na sinibak kaugnay sa corruption scandal sa V. Luna Medical Center.

Hiniling ni Leyte Rep. Henry Ong, miyembro rin ng House Committee on National Defense and Security, sa liderato ng AFP na paigtingin ang mga pagsisikap para ma-freeze ang bank accounts at assets ng mga sangkot sa diumano’y mga anomalya sa ospital, dating kilala bilang V. Luna Medical Center.

“I call on AFP Chief of Staff General Carlito Galvez and his trusted officers to coordinate now with the Anti-Money Laundering Council and with the Department of Justice, so that the necessary measures can be swiftly done to freeze the bank accounts and other liquid assets of those involved in the corruption scandal President Rodrigo Duterte himself has exposed,” aniya sa isang pahayag.

Iniutos ni Pangulong Duterte ang relief at court martial proceedings laban kina Brigadier General Edwin Leo Torrelavega, commander ng AFP Health Service Command, at Colonel Antonio Punzalan, commander ng V. Luna Medical Center.

Sinabi rin ni Ong na ang mga nagkasalang opisyal ng militar ay hindi na dapat pahintulutang lumagda sa disbursements at processing ng special allotment release orders (SAROs).

Nitong Lunes, inihayag ni Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque na ilang matataas na opisyal at empleyado ng V. Luna Medical Center ay inalis sa puwesto dahil sa pagkakasangkot sa “anomalous purchases of equipment and engaged in fraudulent transactions, including ghost purchasing, splitting of contracts to circumvent mandatory bidding processes, and conceiving of fictitious suppliers.”

Ang ghost transactions ay P1.49 milyon halaga ng medical equipment.

Ayon kay Roque, ipinag-utos ng Pangulo ang relief ng AFP officials matapos mabasa ang mga ulat ng Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) at ni AFP chief of staff General Carlito Galvez Jr., na nagkaroon ng “institutional corruption in V. Luna.”

Charissa M. Luci-Atienza