Ex-general in plunder case returns to work

A key defense official who went on leave last June after he was named in the plunder complaint filed in the Department of Justice by former military budget officer George Rabusa has reported back to work.

Retired Army Major General Ernesto Boac reassumed his post as assistant secretary for comptrollership at the Department of National Defense (DND) on Monday.

DND spokesperson Dr. Peter Galvez said Boac came back since he had submitted his formal reply to the plunder charge. Galvez said Boac’s return was timely because the DND would soon be preparing its budget for next year.

Boac voluntarily took a leave of absence without pay last June even before he could read Rabusa’s 105-page amended complaint in which he alleged that Boac had amassed P330 million when he was a budget officer in the defunct Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership from 1986 to 1992.

Boac had said prudence dictated that he go on leave considering the “very critical” positions he held at the DND where he also used to chair the bids and awards committee (BAC).

Galvez said he was not aware if Boac had also resumed the chairmanship of the BAC.

Boac was appointed defense assistant secretary in August 2008, six months after retiring from the military service. He has denied Rabusa’s charge.

Rabusa, a former lieutenant colonel who served as military budget officer from 2000 to 2002, included Boac and four other persons in his amended plunder complaint.