THE military welcomed on Wednesday the investigation into the delivery of ammunition by an Israeli company, which defense officials said did not meet the required specifications.
Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado said the military will cooperate with the probe ordered by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and which will be conducted by the office of the internal affairs of the Department of National Defense.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines welcomes the order of the secretary of Defense, and we are open and are willing to cooperate with the said investigation,” Ibrado said in a statement that was released by information office chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines cannot afford the loss of lives due to failure of ammunition. It is the lives of soldiers and the civilian populace that are at stake, and we give importance to the quality of our war materiel, especially our ammunition,” he added.
Teodoro ordered the investigation after it was found that some of the P264 million worth of ammunition for 60mm and 81mm mortars that were delivered by Israeli firm Talon did not meet the agreed specifications.
Assistant Secretary Nelson Victorino said the ammunition delivered to the military more than six months ago have fuses for a 120mm mortar instead of 60mm and 8mm mortars.
Also, their ignition cartridges were made for 82mm.
Victorino said they learned of the flaws from soldiers who have been sending text messages to the defense department.
While the ignition cartridges may be in question, Brawner said the ammunition are working.
Still, he said, the AFP would fully cooperate with the investigating team in order to ensure that the probe will be transparent and impartial.
Ibrado said he will not hesitate to prosecute military officials, regardless of their ranks, should the investigation find them liable.
Victorino said the issue is “not about whether the ammunition are a dud or not,” but the possible lapses in the acquisition procedures or the collusion between the firm and military officials.
He said Teodoro wanted to find out how the ammunition managed to end up in the arsenal of the military despite the questions.
The assistant secretary said they may have been received and accepted by members of the technical inspection and acceptance committee.
Source: BusinessMirror
Posted: 11/12/2009
http://gibo.ph/updatefull.aspx?key=O9sCsY5YO9xMZAHXyZTsSsLOGSHLBOThiKL5tF/jFXlRhQ8TtX04Yg==
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