Rabusa cleared of plunder, graft raps

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman junked plunder and graft charges filed against former military budget officer George Rabusa in connection with his admitted involvement in alleged illegal fund conversions in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), an issue he himself exposed in 2011, an official said yesterday.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said the charges against Rabusa were dropped because as a state witness under the Department of Justice (DOJ) witness protection program, he is immune from prosecution.

Rabusa, a retired military colonel, was also among those who exposed the so-called “pabaon” scheme for retiring AFP chiefs of staff two years ago, an issue that led to the suicide of former AFP chief Angelo Reyes.

Morales, in a 13-page ruling dated Feb. 27, said Arturo Besana and Maj. Ernesto Angulo – who filed separate plunder and graft charges against Rabusa early last year – cannot question Rabusa’s qualification as a state witness. She noted that the Supreme Court vested in the DOJ “the power to determine who can qualify as a witness in the program and who shall be granted immunity from prosecution.”

Records show that Besana was a resident auditor of the Commission on Audit  assigned at the AFP general headquarters from December 1994 to June 1995.