Diversion

Retired Navy commodore Rex Robles offers an interesting conspiracy theory that says a group of politicians are maneuvering to take the heat off former AFP comptroller Carlos Garcia by finding other fall guys absorb the public rage.

Robles was a key leader of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement that played a key role during the Edsa Revolution. He was also a member of the Feliciano Commission, convened to look into the grievances of our soldiers in the aftermath of the Oakwood Mutiny.

The retired Navy officer claims that in 2004, he offered Rep. Roilo Golez information about Garcia being a US citizen. He likewise volunteered that the military comptroller was facing money laundering and racketeering charges before the US Attorney General’s office.

Golez, a former Navy officer himself, was at that time chair of the House defense committee. This is the congressional committee exercising oversight on the armed forces. Robles, at that time, was invited to the hearings as a resource person.

The congressman ignored the information Robles volunteered. Today, the retired commodore believes that Golez and his committee at the time ought to be investigated for helping cover up Gen. Garcia’s activities.

Robles was surprised when, last month, it was Golez who dragged the name of former Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes into the Garcia controversy by naming him as the influential person protecting the former comptroller. People who know them say there is no love lost between Golez and Reyes.

The investigation led by Heidi Mendoza focused specifically on the missing funds coming from the UN. If we look at the timeline more closely, the retiring AFP chief about the time the UN funds disappeared was Benjamin Defensor — brother of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago.

In the strange games powerbrokers play, Gen. Defensor has not been summoned to the hearings. He is not threatened with contempt for not making an appearance as the other former chiefs of staff have done. It could not be that he was simply overlooked and that no one, in the Senate hearing in particular, mentioned his name when they were grilling former military budget officer George Rabusa.

By all means, we should get to the bottom of what appears to be an institutionalized anomaly in the handling of the AFP’s funds. In doing so, however, we should avoid the process of bringing down the inquiry to the level of the burlesque with bombastic statements made by those who grandstand stretching way beyond what available evidence can sustain. Care needs to be taken to avoid demeaning en masse the gallant men in uniform who serve the nation well.

The matter about the missing UN funds is particularly embarrassing. It is right for the DFA to get into the fray. This is a major diplomatic concern.

While we undertake this painful inquiry and explore the areas for reform, let us not lose sight that the man already at bar is Gen. Carlos Garcia. The case against him must not be allowed to be pushed to the background and then simply unravel.

Camsur

We know tourism is a key sector keeping our economy afloat. We also know that the crime wave we appear to be experiencing will cause undue harm to the tourist industry, especially after that gory hostage incident at the Luneta where no senior official was penalized.

What few people know is that the epicenter of our tourist industry is now Camarines Sur. For 2010, according to the Tourism Department, Camsur accounted for 1.22 million tourist arrivals, overshadowing Boracay’s 607,537 visitors. Year-on-year, Camsur’s tourist industry grew a whopping 52.9 percent in 2010, overtaking both Manila and Cebu.

That is, to put it lightly, remarkable growth. But the growth in tourism is matched, rather disappointingly, by a sharp rise in index crimes in the province.

According to PNP data for the years 2009-10, index crimes in Camsur rose by 47.21 percent. That is, by every measure, alarming.

At the same time, the crime solution efficiency rate for the province dropped precariously from 73.93 percent in 2009 to 63.35 percent in 2010. At some point very soon, the crime rate will kill the tourist industry growth rate.

Local government executives in the province blame the rising crime rate on the alleged incompetence of provincial police director PSSupt. Jonathan Ablang. A number of resolutions have been passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the Camsur League of Municipalities and the Camsur Liga ng mga Barangay calling for Ablang’s immediate relief.

Leading the clamor for the immediate relief of the provincial police director is Camsur’s energetic governor, Luis Raymond Villafuerte Jr. Unfortunately for the province, the relationship between the Villafuertes and former Naga City Mayor (now DILG Secretary) Jessie Robredo has not been very good, to say the least.

Governor Villafuerte opposed Robredo’s appointment as DILG secretary, citing a 2007 Comelec ruling that found the latter not to be a Filipino citizen. Robredo’s actual citizenship has been a constant issue haunting him each election year.

The local executives of Camsur think the difficult relationship between the Villafuertes and Robredo explains the strange action taken on the case of PSsupt. Ablang.

Despite all the resolutions passed by every local government in the province asking for the relief of Ablang, and despite the practice that local executives be consulted on local police appointments, the Napolcom last month made Ablang’s appointment permanent. The Napolcom is chaired by Robredo — who, local officials theorize, merely wants to spite Governor Villafuerte.

That is sad. If police incompetence reigns in Camsur, tourist arrivals could taper off. For the pettiest reason, we kill the goose that lays the golden egg.