Ex-AFP auditor files plunder raps vs Rabusa

MANILA, Philippines - A retired state auditor yesterday accused Senate whistleblower retired Col. George Rabusa of plunder in admitting that he benefited at least P164 million in the misuse of funds in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Arturo Besama announced before reporters during the weekly Rembrandt Forum in Quezon City that he filed an eight-page complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Rabusa.

Besama said Rabusa is the “brain” behind the alleged AFP funds misuse. He noted Rabusa has admitted before the Department of Justice and the Senate Blue Ribbon committee that he misappropriated hundreds of millions of AFP funds for his personal use.

Besama stressed Rabusa cannot escape liability notwithstanding turning state witness in accusing other high-ranking officials of graft.

Besama is among the 22 accused by Rabusa before the DOJ but was later cleared of the charges for insufficiency of evidence.

He said Rabusa admitted depositing at least P164 million in his personal account at the Security Bank, which he used to finance a lavish lifestyle. Rabusa accused a total of four former Armed Forces chiefs and five former military auditors.

Besama’s lawyer Jose Aspiras also told the forum that Rabusa virtually set up his own central bank in the AFP and his allegations that he gave money to his superiors and other officers are bare and unsubstantiated and had no credible documentation.

In fact, Rabusa failed to produce any original documents to support his allegations and repeatedly perjured himself in an attempt to escape responsibility, Aspiras said.

As the DOJ panel itself noted, Rabusa merely relied on his “recollection” of events that happened more than ten years ago, he said.

Besama asked the Ombudsman to immediately conduct a through investigation of Rabusa’s alleged misdeed in order to spare the innocent from further harm.

“We cannot allow Rabusa to use the good office of the Ombudsman and even Malacañang and Congress to grandstand, go scot free and cavalierly besmirch our reputation and sully our honor,” said the 75-year-old former state auditor.

The military, for its part, said they fully support and trust the country’s judicial system in the filing of plunder charges against Rabusa.

“We fully trust in our justice system. Everyone is entitled to the due process of law,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said. – With Jaime Laude