AFP adheres to Ombudsman’s decision on Rabusa case

Former Armed Forces budget officer George Rabusa. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday expressed adherence to the Ombudsman’s decision to dismiss plunder and graft charges against former military budget officer retired Col. George Rabusa.

“We fully trust our justice system. The AFP respects the decision of the Ombudsman to dismiss the plunder and graft charges filed against retired Col. Rabusa,” AFP spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. told reporters in a briefing Monday.

Asked if the military was frustrated or demoralized with the decision, Burgos said they “fully trust” the Ombudsman.

The military spokesman said they are “undertaking security sector reforms” for a more transparent and accountable military.

In a resolution released on Friday, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dismissed the plunder and graft charges filed against Rabusa and cited his immunity as a qualified state witness under the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program.

Rabusa was charged with graft and plunder for being the “brains” in alleged anomalies in the military in 2011.

In the complaint filed by Arturo Besana, the resident auditor assigned by the Commission on Audit to the AFP Headquarters from 1994 to 1995, Rabusa admitted that he directed the conversion of P200 million into dollars and had it transferred to a bank in Bangkok, Thailand.

Rabusa also exposed corrupt practices in the military, such as “pabaon” system and “conversion.”