House asked: Probe Moscow junketeers

Rep. Teodoro Casiño of the party-list group Bayan Muna has asked the House committee on public order and safety to investigate other government officials who joined last month’s Moscow “junket.”

He said it is possible that like the Philippine National Police’s “euro” generals, other officials who attended an International Police (Interpol) conference abused their travel privileges by collecting excessive allowances, making side trips and extending their vacations.

He said he received information that these bureaucrats, like the four “euro” generals who traveled with their wives, brought along “some female companions.”

He said the committee, which is inquiring into what the PNP calls the “Moscow incident,” should find out if this is true and who shouldered the expenses of the other Moscow junketeers’ companions.

Documents submitted by the PNP and the National Police Commission to the committee show that aside from the PNP, the Bureau of Immigration (BI), National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC) had representatives in the Philippine delegation to the Interpol conference.

The immigration bureau was represented by Commissioner Marcelino Libanan; his deputy chief of staff Floro Balato Jr.; Prosecutor Josyli Tabajonda, who is detailed with the BI; and Keneth Gallano, a former Miss Eastern Samar and bank teller who now works in Libanan’s office as a confidential agent.

Libanan is a former Eastern Samar congressman.

PCTC sent its executive director, Rolando Garcia, and his consultant Nixon Dizon to the conference.

They were accompanied by Mrs. Maria Lourdes Garcia and Mrs. Emmarie Dolores Dizon, presumably their wives.

NBI sent Reynaldo Esmeralda, Claro de Castro and Arnel Dalumpines.

The documents also show that while the PNP and NBI delegates flew to Russia on board the Russian carrier Aeroflot, the Libanan and Garcia groups rode on the more comfortable and possibly newer planes of British Airways and Lufthansa.

Libanan and his group were on Lufthansa’s flight LX 1311, while the Garcia and Dizon couples were on BA flight 0878.

It is not known where they took their flights since the two carriers no longer fly from Manila. Hong Kong is the nearest point where a Lufthansa or a British Airways flight can be taken.

In the case of the PNP’s nine delegates, they flew to Hong Kong via Philippine Airlines on Oct. 5 and took Aeroflot for Russia the following day. The conference was supposed to be on Oct. 7-11.

Retired police Director Eliseo de la Paz and his wife were caught with more than 105,000 euros (more than P7 million) in undeclared cash at the Moscow airport.

From Moscow, De la Paz, presumably with his wife, flew to Singapore on Oct. 18 and to Manila three days later.

One “euro” general and his wife made side trips to Vienna in Austria, Venice, Milan and Rome in Italy, and Bangkok in Thailand before finally flying home on Oct. 20.

Others flew to Beijing, China from Russia. They returned to Manila on Oct. 15 via Hong Kong.

Each of the PNP officers collected a per diem of $467 per day for six days, although the conference was only for five days. The per diem rate even exceeded the amount regulations allow.

Upon orders of PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, the officers have returned the P274,070 each of them received as cash advance for their Russian trip.