(Updated 4:15 p.m.) Former military budget officer Lt. Col. George Rabusa on Thursday filed a plunder complaint against former members of the AFP high command, including three former chiefs of staff, two former comptrollers, 10 active and former military officers, and two state auditors. Nearly three months after exposing alleged corruption in the AFP, Rabusa lodged the complaint against the following:
- Former AFP chiefs of staff Diomedio Villanueva, Roy Cimatu, and Efren Abu;
- Former military comptrollers Jacinto Ligot and Carlos F. Garcia;
- Military officials Col. Carlo Tomas Donato, Col. Roy Devesa, Maj. Emerson Angulo, Maj. Gen. Hilario Atendido (retired), Brig. Gen. Benito de Leon, Lt. Col. Ernesto Paranis (retired), Capt. Keneth Paglinawan, Col. Gilbert Gapay, Col. Roberto Arevalo, Maj. Gen. Epineto Logico (retired); and
- Commission on Audit officials Generoso del Castillo and Divina Cabrera, who were assigned to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP).
Villanueva, Cimatu, Ligot, Garcia have all earlier denied pocketing millions of pesos intended for the AFP. Rabusa's lawyer, Noel Malaya, said the complaint focuses on the alleged "series of conversion of funds in the AFP" where about a billion pesos have allegedly been misused. Rabusa said he is confident that his complaint is "airtight" because his allegations are backed by documents and first-hand accounts from his stint as the buget of the officer of the Office of the Comptroller (J6). "It is in this capacity (J6 budget officer) that he has personal knowledge in the rampant irregularities in the military establishment," Rabusa said in his complaint. He added that it was during such time that he knew of the "conversion facilities" of the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces through the OJ6 (Comptrollership) using the ISAFP, OJ7 (Civil Military Operations) and OJ2 (Intelligence). He added that his testimonies are corroborated by Perla Valerio, former chief of the J6 civilian fiscal branch's budget division; and former Lt. Col. Romeo Mateo, former special project officer of the military's Civil Relation Service.
Elements of plunder present In his complaint, Rabusa said all 17 respondents abused their authorities to misuse AFP funds, adding that such misappropriation and conversion of public funds would not have happened without their participation. "Respondents took advantage of their official positions, authority, and influence to unjustly enrich themselves at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines," he said. He added that plunder was evident because more than P50 million was allegedly misused. Republic Act No. 7080 (An Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder) said that at least P50 million must be illegally acquired to establish plunder.
'Pabaon, pasalubong' Rabusa blew the whistle on alleged corrupt practices in the military, such as the alleged tradition of giving pabaon (send-off gift) to retiring AFP chiefs, and pasalubong (welcome gifts) to their successors. Rabusa said former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, who also served as AFP chief, was supposed to be included on the charge sheet, but Reyes' suicide last Feb. 8 extinguished all his criminal liabilities. Reyes took his own life days after Rabusa alleged he received a P50-million pabaon when he retired in March 2001. In his complaint, Rabusa detailed the allowances given to AFP officials and even the COA auditors who supposedly helpd cover up the siphoning off of military funds to the pockets of the AFP top brass. Rabusa summarized the amount received by the respondents. He noted that the amounts do not include the monthly balances that were converted to cash.
Slush funds? He also alleged that the military's Operating Program and Budget (OPB) and Provisions for Command Directed Activities (PCDA), were created arbitrarily and that the money it collected was misaligned to accommodate the personal expenses of the AFP chief. "Undeniably, the OPB and PCDA, by itself, already have no legal basis. The funds are maintained by the misappropriation of another approved expense class and by the conversion of funds to cash using intelligence projects to be given to the AFP Chief of Staff and other high ranking officials within the establishment and outside thereof," said Rabusa. He further said: "In other words, the funds, which have been allotted for a certain purpose, is instead misapplied for the personal use of the Chief of Staff and others. Specifically, the PCDA is obtained from another expense class, such as Personal Service, which was originally intended for other legitimate and valid purpose, like the allowance and salary of military personnel."
Money taken from soldiers' funds Rabusa also detailed how money intended for salaries and allowances of junior soldiers were supposedly misused because the money that was supposed to fund military operations were being depleted due to corruption. The money intended for soldiers' salaries and allowances were used to fund, among others, the purchase of ammunition from Thailand when former President Joseph Estrada ordered an all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). "Significantly, the purchase of these ammunition was done without bidding and without any government to government contract or agreement. The P200 million cash was also converted by [ISAFP official] to dollars without going through the regular banking system. Worse, is the funds utilized came from personnel services or from salary and allowances of soldiers," said Rabusa.
Thing of the past The AFP, meanwhile, expressed support for the legal case, noting that it, too, wants to know the truth behind the alleged corruption. “More than anyone else, it's the Armed Forces of the Philippines that would like to find out the truth behind this expose considering that among the stakeholders, it is the AFP that is most affected and involved," said AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta. Mabanta, however, noted that the corruption mentioned by Rabusa happened several years ago. "Once again, we would like to remind everyone that facts surrounding the case are those that happened ten years ago and that various reforms have been instituted since," he said. He also said the accused officers should not be immediately condemned because "just like any other accused, [they] are innocent until proven guilty by competent authority."
— VVP/LBG/KBK/RSJ, GMA News 
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