DOJ open to protecting 2 witnesses in alleged corruption in AFP

(Updated 3:53 p.m.) Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday said her department is prepared to place under its Witness Protection Program former government auditor Heidi Mendoza and former military budget officer George Rabusa, two witnesses in the alleged corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Mendoza was part of the Commission on Audit's six-member team that followed the money trail of former AFP comptroller Carlos F. Garcia, who is facing a P303-million plunder suit at the Sandiganbayan. Mendoza had testified at the anti-graft court that Garcia stole from government coffers. For his part, former Army colonel Rabusa had testified at a Senate hearing last Thursday that former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes received a P50-million send-off money when he retired as AFP chief of staff in March 2001. Rabusa's lawyer, Noel Malaya, then said his client wishes to become a state witness. "Considering he is not the most guilty of them... we want to tell the truth," said Malaya. Rabusa first testified in a Senate investigation in 2004 when the chamber held an inquiry into the Garcia corruption case. Rabusa was earlier charged with three counts of perjury and unlawfully acquiring property and vehicles amounting to more than P43 million despite only having an annual salary of P275,000. According to the Office of the Ombudsman, his net worth increased from P618,000 in 1990 to P7.18 million in 2003. His wife and father-in-law were likewise charged with conspiring with him. A Newsbreak article said after Garcia's arrest in 2004, the military also put Rabusa under house arrest. The Ombudsman included him in the charge sheet but only Garcia was implicated in the plunder case. The case against Rabusa in the military never prospered. He opted for early retirement in 2004 to run for mayor in Southern Leyte in 2007. He lost. On Friday, De Lima said she got word that Senate Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy' Estrada had requested that Rabusa be placed under the DOJ's Witness Protection Program, even as the former budget oficer can be placed under Senate protective custody in the meantime. She then said: "The DOJ is ready to cover under the WPP Heidi Mendoza in the Garcia case, and/or Rabusa in this corruption within AFP." De Lima was among those who had staunchly questioned the plea bargaining agreement Garcia entered into with special prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman. The Sandiganbayan has said that such deal is yet to be approved, even as Garcia was allowed to plead guilty to two lighter offenses and to post a P60,000 bail that allowed him temporary liberty. On Friday, De Lima said she was also "appalled" by the practice of giving pabaon or send-off money to retiring military chiefs. She added that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who led the 2003 Oakwood mutiny because of alleged corruption in the military, "has been proven right." Later in the day, De Lima said she will create an investigating panel to look into Rabusa's allegations. Military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said the practice was terminated in 2004, although military sources claim that the practice is till being done. [See: AFP spokesman: ‘Pabaon’ practice discontinued in 2004] Rabusa's accusations vs Reyes At a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing last Thursday, Rabusa said he and then AFP comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot, his superior, personally brought the money to then AFP chief Reyes at his quarters dubbed the "White House." Rabusa testified that since it was "very bulky" to carry the P50 million, they had it converted to dollars. Reyes denied Rabusa's allegation. Likewise, Ligot denied being with Rabusa when they supposedly delivered the amount to Reyes. Rabusa, who hinted that Reyes was not the only chief of staff who benefited from the "pabaon" practice, said the money came from the AFP's Provision for Command Directed Activities (PCDA), which is pooled from the different units within the military organization. Rabusa likewise said military chiefs of staff also get around P10 million monthly while in service, half of which supposedly goes to their pockets. Upon his retirement in the military, Reyes headed the Defense Department from 2001 to middle of 2003. Garcia was military comptroller from March 2001 to September 2003. Rabusa served as budget officer during the time of Garcia as J6 (deputy chief of staff for comptrollership, now defunct) and Ligot, Garcia's predecessor. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMANews.TV