Army dissolves logistics command

The Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday announced its plan to dissolve the logistics command.

"[The logistics command] has been a source of corruption which has enriched many military officials," army spokesman Col Buenaventura Pascual said.

"The plan is being implemented slowly until the functions of the logistics command are transferred to the various commands of the Armed Forces on April 1," Pascual said.

"A study has shown that the logistics command is a major source of corruption, that the procurement of equipment and military supplies is being dictated by suppliers, and not according to the needs of the various commands of the Armed Forces," he said.

"The plan is part of an anti-graft crackdown," explained AFP Chief of Staff Gen Efren Abu.

"I have transferred the former functions of the logistics command to the AFP's major services such as the army, the air force, and the navy," Abu said.

"Instead of the general headquarters procuring for the units of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, these various commands will be the ones to do the shopping for whatever they need," said Abu.

The plan is to transform the AFP headquarters into a "policy-making body", and the various commands to include the procurement of their needs as part of their other functions in the field, Abu said.

Earlier, Abu abolished the comptroller's office of the Armed Forces. Its former chief, Maj Gen Carlos Garcia, is still on military trial for alleged corruption.

The AFP is in charge of the security forces that are fighting separatist rebels in the south and communist insurgents nationally.