DOJ subpoenas 3 ex-AFP chiefs, others in plunder case

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday issued subpoenas to former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chiefs Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, Gen. Roy Cimatu, and Gen. Efren Abu, as well as 19 other respondents named in the plunder charge that former budget officer George Rabusa had against ex-AFP top brass. The DOJ panel formed by Justice Sec. Leila de Lima to conduct a preliminary investigation into Rabusa’s amended plunder complaint has summoned the respondents to appear before the panel in its July 6 hearing. The panel also issued subpoenas against the five new respondents Rabusa implicated in his amended complaint. They are North Luzon Command head Lt. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, retired Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac, and state auditors Arturo Besana, Crisanto Gabriel, and Manuel Warren. Also summoned are former AFP comptrollers Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and Jacinto Ligot, as well as retired Maj. Gen. Hilario Atendido, retired Maj. Gen. Epineto Logico, Brig. Gen. Benito de Leon, Col. Cirilo Donato, Col. Roy Devesa, Maj. Emerson Angulo, retired Maj. Ernesto Paranis, Col. Gilbert Gapay, Col. Robert Arevalo and Capt. Kenneth Paglinawan. Two auditors from the Commission on Audit — Generoso del Castillo and Divina Cabrera — were likewise summoned by the panel. The issuance of the subpoenas was authorized by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, head of the panel. The subpoenas were also signed by panel members City Prosecutor Archimedes Manabat and Senior State Prosecutor Susan Dacanay. ‘Airtight’ 105-page amended complaint The DOJ is conducting a preliminary investigation into the initial plunder complaint, where Rabusa alleged that those he named as respondents are liable for misuse and conversion of some P2.3 billion in military funds from 2000 to 2005. Two weeks ago, Rabusa submitted his 105-page amended complaint which was accompanied by a truckload of documents to support his allegations that billions of pesos in AFP funds got diverted to the pockets of AFP ranking officials. (See: Rabusa implicates 5 more in AFP corruption) 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 budget officer in the now-defunct Office of the Comptroller or J6. “It is in this capacity (J6 budget officer) that he [Rabusa] 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 Offices of J6 (Comptroller) – using the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) – as well as J7 (Civil Military Operations) and J2 (Intelligence). He added that his testimonies are corroborated by Senate witness Perla Valerio, former chief of the J6 civilian fiscal branch's budget division, and retired Lt. Col. Romeo Mateo, former special project officer of the military's Civil Relations Service. ‘Abuse of authority’ in alleged plunder In his complaint, Rabusa said the respondents had abused their authority to misuse AFP funds, adding that such misappropriation and conversion of public funds could 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 is evident because more than P50 million was allegedly misused. Republic Act 7080 (Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder) provides that at least P50 million must be illegally acquired to establish plunder. — MRT/VS, GMA News