Friday, May 09, 2008
Barbieto to face court martial over recruitment scam (4:34 p.m.)
MANILA -- The Philippine armed forces chief has ordered the court martial of a senior general who allegedly extorted money from recruits wanting to bypass army screening, a military spokesman said Friday.
Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro said Major General Jose Barbieto, who headed an infantry division battling communist rebels and Muslim militants, will be charged with unauthorized recruitment of soldiers, unbecoming conduct and undermining military discipline.
Bacarro said the court martial, ordered by Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, "is just to show that the military justice system is working and that whoever violates the law regardless of position or rank ... will be tried."
Esperon, who retires next week, and Barbieto - the second high-ranking officer accused of corruption in recent years - were classmates at the elite Philippine Military Academy.
Barbieto and one of his subordinates, Staff Sergeant Roseller Echepare, have been suspended without pay pending a separate graft investigation by the Ombudsman, the civilian anti-corruption prosecutor.
The two men could not be immediately reached for comment. Neither Barbieto nor his representative has made any statement since the charges were first disclosed in February.
"He is not yet guilty," Bacarro said. "General Barbieto and others who may be implicated here will be given opportunity to defend themselves." (AP) |
