Feb 262014
 

A member of the Presidential Security Group who was caught using cloned automated teller machine (ATM) cards last week is now out on bail.

Lt. J.G. Raphael Marcial gained his temporary liberty after he posted P20,000 bail, radio dzBB reported early Thursday.

Makati City police had arrested Marcial, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2008, during a surveillance operation.

Last Sunday, Malacañang said there will be no special treatment for Marcial, with Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. saying Marcial will have to face the consequences of his actions.

“They must face the consequences of their actions in accordance with the law,” he said on government-run dzRB radio last Sunday. — ELR, GMA News

Oct 082013
 
DND says it received over P600M from DAP

The Department of National Defense (DND) has received over P600 million from the Aquino administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), the constitutionality of which is being challenged before the Supreme Court. In a statement Tuesday, the DND said the P665.6 million it received from 2011 to 2012 were used for the programs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, such as the procurement of equipment and spare parts, on-base housing, and the repair, renovation and rehabilitation of different facilities, the department said in a statement. Bulk of the funds for AFP went to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the Presidential Security Group (PSG), according to the statement. The air force used its P397.3 million DAP funds for on-base housing facilities and the procurement of communication equipment. The funds were also used for various PAF’s projects such as the allocation of resources for search and rescue requirements, base facilities and equipment, and the repair, renovation and rehabilitation of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) facilities in Lipa, Batangas. Meanwhile, the PSG got P248.3 million for its communication enhancement project — the repair of buildings and barracks, the upgrade of communication equipment to digital from analog, and the installation of CCTV in the Malacañang complex. The DAP, which allows the Department of Budget and Management to pool government savings for other purposes, was said to be the source of the P50 million given to some senators last year after the Senate impeachment court voted to convict then-Chief Justice Renato Corona. — Read More …