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Army officer faces P43-M unexplainedwealth raps

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Topic: Army officer faces P43-M unexplained wealthraps (Read 472 times)

kuratong

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Posts: 235

Army officer faces P43-M unexplained wealth

raps on: January 21, 2005, 03:06:36 AM

HEADLINE NEWS

Army officer faces P43-M unexplained wealth rapsBy Delon PorcallaThe Philippine Star 01/21/2005

Another Army officer has been charged with allegedunexplained wealth amid a crackdown on corruption in

the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), governmentprosecutors said yesterday.

Lt. Col. George Rabusa has been charged with threecounts of perjury and unlawfully acquiring property andvehicles amounting to more than P43 million, theOmbudsman said in a statement.

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Rabusas legitimate income for 2003 reached only P13.5million. He had served as the former budget officer ofretired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.

Rabusas wife Debbie and father-in-law Felix Arevalowere also charged with conspiring and "serving as hisdummies," the statement said.

Rabusas net worth rose from P618,000 in 1990 to P7.18million in 2003. However, his annual salary was lessthan P275,000.

"Undoubtedly, Rabusas accumulation of such

unexplained wealth of more than P43 million is indeedmanifestly or grossly disproportionate to his and hiswifes lawful income and cannot be justified under thecircumstances," the Ombudsman said in a 12-pageresolution.

Land Transportation Office (LTO) recordsshowed Rabusa had 11 vehicles registered to his nameworth a total of P5.2 million. Nine of the cars havealready been sold. The vehicles remaining in Rabusaspossession are a 2003 Honda Civic sedan and a 1999

Hyundai Starex van.

Investigators also found that Rabusa spent P5.5 millionin "improvements" to his home at the AFP OfficersVillage at Fort Bonifacio in Makati City. They also foundthat Rabusa owned a P1.5-million house and lot inParaaque City that was sold for P2.8 million and P1million in investments in a family-owned company Arevalo, Rabusa, Templora Inc.

Rabusas investments in the Armed Forces and PoliceSavings and Loan Association Inc. (AFPSLAI) havereached P10 million and investigators found that he hasa total of P10 million more in savings deposits in threelocal banks. Records also showed that Rabusa paid$132,485 (P7.4 million) in total insurance premiums forhis daughters Diana and Dorothy Grace in February

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2004.

"There is, likewise, no justification how (Rabusa) couldhave shouldered his personal and family expenses,

(these) expenses being beyond what could belegitimately sustained by his lawful income,"Ombudsman probers Dennis Garcia, Joyce Martinez-Barut and Luis Aquino said in their indictment.

Immigration records show that Rabusa went overseas17 times since 1993 and that his wife traveled abroad 18times - including trips to Sydney, Australia; SanFrancisco, France, London, England, Singapore andBangkok, Thailand. Immigration records also showed

that the Rabusa children Diana, Dorothy Grace andDanielle George went to Los Angeles and Singapore.

These foreign trips cost Rabusa P1 million in expenses,Deputy Ombudsman for the Military Orlando Casimirosaid. The cost of these foreign trips would have taken aserious toll on Rabusas income and they make hisdeclared assets, investments and property "moreunfeasible."

Investigators from the Ombudsman branded Rabusas

defense that his family received P4.1 million in financialassistance from his in-laws and inheritance as "highlydubious," since Rabusas explanation is "veryconvenient" to make.

According to the Ombudsmans investigators, Rabusasdefense remains unsubstantiated.

Investigators also found that Rabusas declared annualexpenses were always "remarkably higher" than his

actual legitimate earnings, particularly those recorded in1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Rabusa said hespent P5.4 million in 2000, when his earnings were onlyrecorded at P4.6 million.

"Clearly, Rabusa does not have sufficient disposablefunds which he could have used to invest to acquire

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additional assets or properties to increase his net worth,"the Ombudsman said.

Rabusa is the latest officer to be charged with graft in

a crackdown on corruption within the military.

At the resumption of Garcias court martial yesterday, afemale prosecution witness broke down under intensequestioning by one of the lawyers for the defense.

Rosario Santos, chief finance officer of the AFPSLAI, losther composure when lawyer Constantino de Jesussarcastically asked her why she was testifying againstGarcia.

Before the incident that led to a recess and subsequentadjournment of trial, De Jesus meticulously andrepeatedly questioned Santos why she issued acertification on his clients deposit at AFPSLAI despite theexistence of the bank secrecy law.

De Jesus also ribbed Santos on why she was testifyingagainst Garcia if the AFPSLAI considered him a valuedclient.

The legal antics drew laughter inside the militarycourtroom, but Santos broke into tears. Subpoena forLigotMeanwhile, retired Gen. Jacinto Ligot faces arrest if hecontinues to ignore the summons of the Housecommittee on national defense to appear in the nexthearing on the alleged web of corruption in the AFP.

Paraaque Rep. Roilo Golez, who chairs the committee,said they have issued a subpoena signed by Speaker

Jose de Venecia for Ligot to appear at the Jan. 25hearing and shed light on persistent reports of theenormous wealth he had accumulated while serving inthe armed forces.

House sergeant-at-arms Bayani Fabic will serve thesubpoena to Ligot, who served under former AFP chief of

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staff Angelo Reyes.

Reyes is now secretary of the Interior and LocalGovernment.

"If Ligot refuses to honor the subpoena, the retiredgeneral will be arrested and brought to the House,"Golez said.

The House panel was forced to issue the subpoena afterLigot snubbed the bodys invitations four times.

The last invitation was delivered to one of Ligots manyknown addresses, in Muntinlupa City, where a senior

member of the committee secretariat reported thatsomeone in the Ligot household, possibly Ligots son,shouted at him arrogantly, saying "Congress lang pala(its just Congress)."

The same man challenged the House to issue asubpoena, the committee staffer said.

"It appears from this and previous actuations thatsomebody very powerful may be protecting andemboldening retired general Ligot to be defiant," Golez

said. "They must be hiding something very big, but wewill not allow this unprecedented arrogance tocontinue."

Golez had invited Ligot to the House defensecommittees hearings to explain the declarations made inan article published in the Dec. 20, 2004 issue ofNewsbreak magazine, which stated that Ligot amassedunexplained wealth while in active service in the AFP,particularly during his stint as AFP comptroller, despite

the fact that his monthly salary then was only P35,000.

Among Ligots reported property are: A condominiumunit in Essensa at The Fort in Makati City, other propertyin the Philippines and two houses in California worthmillions of dollars, Golez said.

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Ligot is also known as a "frequent flyer," having made atleast 28 foreign trips since 1998, Golez added.

In a separate statement, Ligots lawyer Antonio Zulueta

said he advised Ligot to decline the invitations issued byGolezs committee and "to address these allegedviolations at the proper forum, such as the Office of theOmbudsman, so as not to subject (Ligot) prematurely tounnecessary persecution and to public humiliation,especially now that the Ombudsman has initiated itsinvestigation on the matter."

In a letter to Golez, Zulueta said "any inquiry into thesevery private matters, short of an accusation filed in

court, would likewise be violative of our clientsconstitutional rights, particularly his right to privacy, lifeand property."

Garcia, the former chief financial officer of the AFP,was charged last year with amassing over $1 milliondespite having an annual salary that amounted only toabout $7,200.

Garcia was also charged with possessing a green cardas a permanent resident of the United States, which is

not permitted for serving Philippines officers.

A Philippine Air Force general was recently charged withgraft for the fraudulent sale of military equipment.

The office of the Ombudsman, tasked with probing graftin government, has also filed criminal charges against airforce Brig. Gen. Vladimir Binondo delos Trino, Maj.Antonio Jason Garcia and a military engineer fordefrauding the government in the sale of four military-

owned power generators worth P800,000.

The three allegedly disregarded a higher bid for thegenerators and received kickbacks from the winningbidder, who will also be charged in court. With PaoloRomero, Jaime Laude

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Logged

Dont kill the messenger just the message--smoke em' if you got em'

kuratong

Member

Posts: 235

Military officer's alleged illegal wealth to be

confiscated Reply #1 on: January 21, 2005, 03:27:58 AM

Military officer's allegedillegal wealth to beconfiscated

Posted 02:30pm (Mla time) Jan 21, 2005Agence France-Presse

THE GOVERNMENT will confiscate some 43 million pesos(767,000 dollars) in alleged illegal wealth acquired by amilitary officer facing graft charges, prosecutors saidFriday.The officer, Lieutenant Colonel George Rabusa, wasindicted in a Manila court on Thursday after aninvestigation found he owned assets beyond what hecould have acquired on his annual salary of about275,000 pesos.?

"As far as the government is concerned, we are going torecover and forfeit all of his illegally acquired assets,"said Ernesto Nocos, spokesman of the office of theOmbudsman.?

Rabusa's wife and father-in-law were also charged withconspiring and "serving as his dummies," theOmbudsman's office said.?

Rabusa was investigated after his former superior,then-military finance chief Major General Carlos Garcia,was chargedlast year for amassing more than a milliondollars despite having an annual salary that amounted toabout 7,200 dollars.?

The charges against Garcia triggered a

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