March 3, 2001 , The Philippine Star, Ex-Navy chief to get civilian position, by Marichu Villanueva and Paolo Romero,

Floating no more?

Rear Adm. Guillermo Wong, who was placed on "floating status" following his recent relief as Philippine Navy chief, may land a new job soon.

This possibility developed after President Arroyo summoned Wong to a closed-door meeting at Malacanang. Emerging from the meeting, Wong clammed up on the topic of their talk.

Palace sources said, however, that he may get a civilian position pending his retirement from the service.

"I think you should hear that from the President, not from me. We talked about several possibilities," Wong said.

Wong, who was sacked as Navy chief following a row with the Marine Corps, cited the President for personally discussing the controversy with him. His relief virtually eliminated his chances of being nominated as the next chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

"I think it's very nice of her to even talk about these things. I think you should hear it from her. I think we're not ready actually to say anything," Wong said.

He denied having made any special requests to the President.

Wong was among the three major service commanders who accompanied AFP chief Gen. Angelo Reyes to the EDSA Shrine in Mandaluyong City during people power II where they declared their withdrawal of support from deposed President Estrada.

The following day, Jan. 20, Estrada vacated Malacanang as thousands of protesters were closing in on the Palace.

Wong said he merely explained to the President his side of the controversy with the Marines headed by Maj. Gen. Librado Ladia who is facing court martial proceedings for allegedly threatening to bodily take out Wong from his office.

Wong's woes were sparked by his dressing down of the Marines leadership over alleged irregular purchase of P11 million worth of helmets and submachine guns.

"She wanted me to apprise her (about) what happened, and she was very concerned about my welfare as a professional and as an individual," Wong told reporters.

Wong also revealed he met with the Ombudsman for the Military shortly before his talks with the President.

He refused to comment further on the case, saying it is now in the hands of the Ombudsman.

The AFP Inspector General is also conducting an inquiry on Ladia's conduct which may lead to court martial proceedings.

Wong said he learned "plenty of lessons" from his run-in with the Marines.

Missing rifles

Military authorities were puzzled over the whereabouts of 100 German-made assault rifles worth P72 million procured by the Marines last year.

A police officer who was supposed to escort the delivery of the Heckler and Koch (HK MP5) 9 mm. submachine guns to the Marines headquarters in Fort Bonifacio said the weapons were actually unloaded at the office of the supplier, Trimark Ventures Corp.

Five of the guns were later seized by the police in a raid at a hideout of suspected Taiwanese gunrunners in Subic last October.

SPO4 Richard Zules of the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) in Camp Crame, said in a sworn statement that the firearms were licensed to the Marine Corps.

Trimark initially deposited the guns at the storage vault of the FED for documentation.

The shipment was withdrawn from the FED for delivery to the Marines headquarters on June 21 last year, but was diverted to Trimark offices for no apparent reason.

Zules said no Marine representatives, only agents of Trimark, were present during the withdrawal of the rifles from the FED warehouse.

The Trimark representatives were identified as Michael Boregas and Gerardo Vejarde.

Zules said Boregas and Vejarde claimed that the Marines would pick up the rifles from the Trimark office.

Zules also said he learned later that Marine Col. Cesar de la Pena had asked the FED to cancel the issuance of licenses for the rifles because the contract had been rescinded due to "financial constraints."

In his own sworn statement, De la Pena said Trimark president Ferdinand Trinidad handled the procurement of the firearms, and even volunteered to source out funds to pay for them.

Reports quoted Trinidad as saying the guns had been delivered to the Marines.

In another development, retired Maj. Gen. Guillermo Ruiz denied any irregularity in the construction of the P65-million Marine headquarters in Ternate, Cavite.

Ruiz also welcomed investigations on the controversy, saying the probe may give him the opportunity to clear his name.

"The project was implemented and the buildings are there. However, it was not finished due to lack of funds," Ruiz clarified.

Wong has reportedly sought the reopening of the probe on the Ternate project where Ruiz was allegedly cleared under suspicious circumstances.

The project involved the construction of a new Marine headquarters, including an access road, in Ternate.

Documents showed, however, that as of June 1997, only P266.65 was left of the P64,982,600 funding, but no new headquarters or passable road was constructed.

Ruiz lamented that Wong reopened the issue, saying it was a simple case of lack of funds.

He clarified that the appropriation for the project was released on installments by the Navy, with inspections conducted first before the money was released.

He admitted that the project was not completed because the Armed Forces general headquarters did not release the additional P30 million requested by the Marines for the access road.

"There was no whitewash before I was requested to (transfer to) the Western Command (in Palawan) and later retired while the investigation was being conducted. So I could not have influenced it," Ruiz said.

"I don't know where he (Wong) got his facts," he added. -- Marichu Villanueva, Paolo Romero