What to do with a thief squealing on his cohorts

CLARK FIELD (PLDT/WeRoam) — This telenovela addict has been watching for some red flags as retired Col. George Rabusa, former military budget officer, continues to play his self-assigned role as a repentant thief and moral crusader:

1. How many millions did Rabusa (PMA ’81) steal from the funds intended for logistics and the foot soldiers — and how much of the loot has he returned?

2. Is Rabusa a true crusader or is he just trying to save his neck after Somebody hurled thunderbolts in his direction to remind him of the millions clinging to his sticky fingers as budget officer of the then J6 (comptrollership) from 2000 to 2002?

3. Of his revelations against former AFP chiefs of staff Angelo Reyes, Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu — and some unnamed individuals above them — what is supported by hard evidence and how much of it is mere affidavit allegations?

4. Has Rabusa succeeded in establishing himself as state witness — complete with security, immunity and stipend — for his belated offer to pin down thieving generals?

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TOTAL TAKE: Somebody with facts and figures, and without ulterior motives, should update the public on the four questions above.

As we have learned from the messy plea bargain of retired Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia, there must be a rule on how much a thief must return to merit mercy. But what do we tell Rabusa to return when there is no Grand Total yet of what he had stolen?

Somebody should audit his past and present assets to determine what can be considered as manifestly out of proportion to his legitimate income. The audit should cover even those acquisitions that had gone sour.

Unlike Garcia who offered to return only half of his more than P300 million in questioned riches, Rabusa should return all unexplained wealth as reparation before he talks about being a state witness.

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SUDDEN WEALTH: Many observers ask “what kind of a man will sell his master?” referring to Rabusa squealing on Reyes and other former bosses and benefactors.

It was recalled that AFP chief Reyes placed Rabusa only under house arrest while Garcia was jailed when the fund diversion scandal involving the military comptroller (Garcia) and his budget officer (Rabusa) broke out in 2004.

A paper going the rounds says: “In the early ’90s when George (Rabusa) was still a junior officer, he and his wife used to go around the neighborhood and friends for buyers of pork they were going to butcher at the back of their old quarters. Such entrepreneurial spirits are very common given the meager soldier’s salary.

“Things started to change when George held sensitive positions such as budget officer of G2, PA, with then Col. Raul Urgello as his boss. More so when Urgello became Commanding General, PA, in 1998 and made George take care of all financial needs of CGPA.

“There was a sudden change in their lifestyle: brand-new cars and SUVs parked in their designated garage at PAOVILLE, Fort Bonifacio. Senior officers questioned their display of wealth. While very much senior officers in the neighborhood could not afford to buy one brand-new car with their meager salary, they got three top-of-the-line SUVs!”

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HOUSES GALORE: The paper continues: “In just a short period, they were able to build multi-million houses for themselves and their relatives.

“Two of these multi-million houses (P10 million each at the time of construction excluding the Italian furniture and fixtures) are found side by side at AFPOVAI. One is owned by Rabusa, and the next-door house belongs to his brother (PMA ’83) and assigned to the Navy.”

There is allegedly another house in Paranaque, a weekend place in Batangas, a P50-million house in an exclusive subdivision in Quezon City described as a gift from a dealer, and a multimillion-peso mansion for a girl friend in Fairview.

The paper says: “If you are going to tally them all, the amount is way more than what the law requires to file a plunder case against a government employee who, at that time, had a gross earning of only P25,000 a month!”

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CHECK REPORTS: This is not to say that these reports about Rabusa are true and correct.

But the serious allegations have to be investigated by the proper agencies, if only to determine what kind of man stands to gain more than he is willing to give in testifying against his superiors whom, in the first place, he apparently had helped to raid AFP coffers.

The Garcia plea bargain episode of the campaign to flush out and punish military grafters is lesson enough for us, this time, to be careful with anybody who volunteers to return stolen wealth.

In fairness to Rabusa, he has said by way of explaining his talking against his bosses and benefactors: “My conscience bothered me. I’ve gone through many setbacks, very terrible setbacks, until I suffered a stroke. I guess this is punishment.”

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CLARK UPDATE: Yokohama Rubber Co., one of 424 locators in this freeport zone, is investing in the next six years P25 billion more in its passenger-car tire factory put up here in 1996.

It will add some 3,000 more Filipinos to its 2,000 workforce and boost production from the present 13-million tires to 17-million to make it the biggest Yokohama plant in the world.

Under the company’s medium-term plan, most of the tires to be made will be exported to North America.

The new tenancy contract that Yokohama signed Saturday with the Clark Development Corp. for an additional 300,000 square meters gives it a total plant area of 460,000 square meters.

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