Gov’t loses bid to forfeit Rabusa assets

The Court of Appeals building in Ermita, Manila. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/COURT OF APPEALS WEBSITE

MANILA, Philippines—The Court of Appeals denied the government’s bid to forfeit the alleged ill-gotten wealth of retired military budget officer Lieutenant Colonel George Rabusa, his wife and father-in-law.

In a 10 page decision authored by Associate Justice Socorro Inting, the appeals court 9^th division said the examination of Rabusa’s bank account and his family was a fishing expedition.

It pointed that they will grant the government’s bid only if there is a court order, without one, it will be a violation of the General Banking Act.

Under the General Banking Act, “without order of a court of competent jurisdiction, disclose to any unauthorized person any information relative to the funds of properties in the custody of the bank belonging to private individuals, corporations, or any entity.”

The appeals court added that what the government wants to examine were dollar accounts covered by the Foreign Currency Deposit Act which prohibits the opening of accounts except if there is a written permission from the depositor.

“The raison d’ etre (reason for existing) of the law prohibiting disclosure of or inquiry into, deposits with any banking institution is to give encouragement to the people to deposit their money in banking institutions and to discourage private hoarding so that the same may be properly utilized by banks in authorized loans to assist in the economic development of the country.”

“Owing to this piece of legislation, the confidentiality of bank deposits remains to be a basis state policy in the Philippines,” it added.

The case stemmed when the government, in 2004 filed the petition before the Regional trial Court of Makati City against Rabusa, his wife and father-in-law Feliz Arevalo forfeiture of unlawfully acquired properties.

The government argued that since his employment in the AFP on March 15, 1981 up to the filing of the petition on December 6, 2004, Rabusa amassed wealth more than that declared in statement of asset, liabilities and net worth (SALN) which is out of proportion to his total government salary and his income from other legitimate sources.

But Rabusa denied the allegations saying that their assets are all substantiated and that all their assets and liabilities are indicated in his  SALN.

Rabusa added that the huge amount of deposit that he and his wife had with the Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (AFPSLAI) are not solely their personal funds but of their close relatives and friends whom they accommodated because of the high 20 percent rate.

In 2009, the Makati RTC dismissed case for lack of evidence prompting the government to elevate the case to the Court of Appeals.

Rabusa was the one who revealed the multi-billion anomaly inside the military which resulted to the filing of criminal case against former ranking military officials including former AFP chiefs , Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu; retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia (former AFP chief comptroller); retired Maj. General Jacinto Ligot (former AFP chief comptroller); Brig. Gen. Benito Antonio de Leon; Col. Cirilo Tomas Donato (ISAFP budget officer)  and retired Lt. Col. Ernesto Paranis ( commanding officer of the Finance Service Unit of AFP Intelligence Service).

Also charged were retired Maj. Gen. Hilario Atendido, for his alleged participation as “bagman” of Villanueva and Col. Roy Devesa, former executive assistant to the late Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes.