Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31359123-20170221090510

CORRUPTION RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD ANEW IN THE PROCUREMENT OF DEFENSE WEAPONS FOR THE PHILIPPINES

News reports are now coming out of Davao that some Israeli companies are trying to get an appointment with President Rodrigo Duterte in order to set a presentation of their products to him. The curious thing is that these companies are not even in the top echelon of Israel’s defense industry and are mostly little known companies with largely unproven products and dubious systems.

Now, they are reportedly flying to Davao to make a sales presentation of these dubious products to the President. They are actually making a fool of the President by making him a Technical Working Group and Defense Acquisition Committee rolled into one. This unethical act by these Israeli companies and their Philippine representative is a major insult to the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines as it not only bypasses them and disregards their technical expertise, but also tramples upon set procedures to ensure that our soldiers who lay their lives on the line for our protection will always get the best weapons systems in the most efficient and transparent way.

The current procedure, which ensures efficiency and transparency, is for presentations to be made first at the level of the end-user, and based on the expertise and experience of the end-user operating units, the end-user’s Technical Working Groups would make their thorough evaluation of the presented weapons systems and make their informed recommendation to their superiors who will eventually elevate and refer these recommendations to the President based on the parameters recently established by the President himself, which is to go government-to-government on such deals and eliminate the participation of corrupt vendors.

This is where the plot thickens. The presentation is being spearheaded by one JOCELYN MAGCALE of JOAVI who was earlier exposed by the Tulfo brothers. In his Manila Times column last April 5, 2015, Erwin Tulfo gave the sordid details about Magcale and her involvement in shady deals in the DND and Philippine Coast Guard. His article, titled “Lady contractor seduces officials to win DND, AFP deals” is quite informative:

“Perhaps, the true to life story of a lady contractor would spice up a Senate inquiry into the massive anomalies at the Department of National Defense (DND), particularly the overspending and overpricing in its procurement deals.

“Who would have imagined that a comely young woman from Visayas working as a guest relation officer (GRO) in one of the nightclubs in Makati in the 90’s would eventually become one of the wealthiest military dealers or suppliers in the country today.

“Now in her 40’s, this contractor is said to be one of the most sought after contractor by defense and military officials because of her big offer of commissions or kickbacks on every DND project awarded to her. In addition, she has turned the officials’ sexual fantasies into reality.

“This attractive woman had dealt with the DND to supply the AFP with a wide variety of items from small arms ammunition to protective gear over the past years, amassing a fortune out of sweetheart deals.

X X X

“Using her irresistible beauty, she started closing deals by sweet-talking officials DND and AFP both in the war room and in the bedroom, as well.

“Her big break though did not come at Camp Aguinaldo but rather at the auspices of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) with which she transacted business in 2001.

“Again, she capitalized on her seductive beauty to captivate the heart of a high-ranking official who served her the juicy PCG contracts on silver platters.

“Insider info has it that the former Magdalena was impregnated by the official but had the baby allegedly aborted in the guise of a miscarriage for which she was taken to a hospital in E. Rodriguez Ave. in Quezon City.

“When her PCG official lover retired from the service, this lady contractor brought her business back to Camp Aguinaldo.

“The mother of two stayed in great shape such that a ranking officer of the Philippine Army got crazy about her and made her his mistress sometime in 2013.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“It was when she began cornering most of the juicy projects of the Army through negotiated or rigged biddings.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“Her Army general lover eventually retired from service, too, leaving her with the luxury of a plush subdivision in Paranaque and a fleet of lavish cars.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“She continues to transact business at the DND and AFP to this day.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“But the problem, according to some military officials, is her frequent failure to deliver the goods on time when they were badly needed in combat operations.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“Some goods, like mortars for the Army, turned out to be defective.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“There were also instances when she did not deliver goods, at all.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“I’m wondering if this contractor honestly pays her taxes and on time?”

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">The is also the recent case reported by Marlon Reyes of Inquirer last May 15, 2016 about gross anomalies involving Magcale’s JOAVI and some DBM executives in the purchase of inflatable rubber boats for the AFP in 2010. The article, titled “DBM execs face graft raps” reveals:

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the indictment for graft of six officials of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in connection with the allegedly fraudulent procurement of inflatable rubber boats for the military in 2010.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“Charged in the Sandiganbayan were Budget Undersecretary Evelyn Guererro, Director Lourdes Santiago, procurement management officers Julieta Lozano and Mervin Ian Tanquintic, administrative assistant Alvin John Perater and ad hoc member Lt. Malone Agudelo.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“Included as a private respondent was Anthony Hernandez of Joavi Philippines Corp., the supplier of the substandard rubber boats.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“In an e-mailed statement, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said graft investigators discovered that the purchase of the rubber boats, used as rescue vessels, violated several provisions of the government’s procurement law.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">“For one, Morales said, the rubber boats did not have inflation valves, over-pressure valves and roll-up floors as specified in the procurement plan/rga”

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">http//businessinquirernet/210320/dbm-execs-face-graft-raps#ixzz48kGRegr9

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">Another news report on the case said “JOAVI also allegedly “merely copied” the technical specifications of Zodiac FC470 Futura Commando Inflatable Rubber Boat manufactured by Zodiac International and exclusively distributed in the country by S.A. Phils., Inc.”

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:21px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;color:rgb(42,46,46);">Additional about some of Magcale’s anomalies were provided by a group of patriotic  <ac_metadata title="URGENT"> </ac_metadata>