SANTIAGO CALLS FORMER AFP CHIEF REYES A 'DEAD MAN WALKING'
[PHOTO - LEFT -SENATOR MIRIAM SANTIAGO; RIGHT - FORMER AFP CHIEF ANGELO REYES]
MANILA, JANUARY 31, 2011 (MALAYA) BY JP LOPEZ AND VICTOR REYES - Miriam moves to pin Angie.
SEN. Miriam Defensor Santiago yesterday said the eyewitness account of former Col. George Rabusa could pin down Angelo Reyes and other former AFP chiefs for criminal charges.
"He is a dead man walking. Yang si Reyes na yan, patay na yan. His goose is cooked...dahil mayroon tayong eyewitness…sa kasong criminal," she said in a radio interview.
She said in the case of murder, an eyewitness account is enough to convict a suspect.
"Reyes can be convicted on the basis of the testimony of one eyewitness alone," she said, referring to Rabusa.
AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, who belongs to PMA Class '81 like Rabusa, said "George Rabusa has passed through all command positions but his longest stint was with the comptroller office. With that, he may know what he is saying."
Mabanta also said PMA Class '81 is "behind George Rabusa in terms of commitment in saying what we want but others may not be all out for what he stands for…We can say that we admire him for standing for what he believes in."
He also said he is "quite close" with Rabusa who served as class president at one time. Rabusa was deemed resigned from the service when he ran for an elective post several years ago, Mabanta said.
Rabusa, former AFP budget officer, told a Senate hearing last Thursday that Reyes received P50 million in "pabaon" or send-off money when he retired in March 2001. He said he and his superior, who was the comptroller at that time, personally brought the money to Reyes.
Reyes denied Rabusa's allegation during the hearing which was intended to look into the plea bargaining agreement that a former military comptroller, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Carlos Garcia, forged with the Ombudsman.
Garcia was originally charged with plunder for amassing some P303 million while he was comptroller. The agreement allowed him to plead to lesser offenses and paved the way for his release from detention. The agreement is being questioned by the government.
Garcia's predecessor was Rabusa's superior, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Jacinto Ligot who was also at the hearing.
Rabusa said the P50-million "pabaon" is on top of P5 million a month Reyes received while he was the military chief.
Santiago said: "Pagkatapos ang sabi ni Reyes, hindi niya maalala na tatanggap ka ng ganyan kalaking pera. Hindi mo maalala? Ginagago naman tayo nito."
She described Rabusa as a "pearl of great price in the Bible" who should be given protection by the government.
Santiago said she expects Reyes to destroy Rabusa's credibility, delay the investigation, or divert the public's attention to other issues.
Senators said other AFP chiefs will be invited when the Blue Ribbon inquiry resumes, including former president Fidel Ramos, Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu.
Santiago said, "Ang kailangan dito ay isa-isahin sila. Kaya ang maganda siguro ay i-lifestyle check natin ang lahat ng naging chief of staff, umpisa kay Fidel Ramos hanggang sa ngayon. Tingnan natin anong pamumuhay nila ngayon. Dahil yun ang pinakamalaking sanhi ng ating ebidensya. Makikita natin kung kaninong pangalan inilagay ang kanilang pag-aari at anong relasyon nitong mga general dahil matatalino naman itong mga generals, di nilalagay sa name nila."
Garcia was charged by the military in 2004, a few months after his illegal activities were uncovered with the arrest of his children by US immigration authorities in December 2003.
He was accused of amassing wealth from 2001 up to 2004 when his alleged crime was discovered. He assumed as comptroller after Ligot was reassigned on March 28, 2001.
Reyes retired as AFP chief on March 1, 2001 and was appointed defense secretary later that month.
Succeeding Reyes in the AFP was Diomedio Villanueva who served up to May 2002 when Roy Cimatu assumed the top AFP post.
After Cimatu were Santiago's brother, Benjamin Defensor, who served from Sept. 10 to Nov. 28, 2002; Dionisio Santiago, who served up to April 8, 2003; Narciso Abaya, up to Oct. 29, 2004; Efren Abu, up to Aug. 15, 2005; and Generoso Senga, up to July 21, 2006.
After Senga came Hermogenes Esperon, Alexander Yano, Victor Ibrado, and Delfin Bangit who had to go on early retirement after President Aquino assumed office in July last year.
Mabanta said AFP chief Gen. Ricardo David has given orders for his staff to be prepared in case they are invited to the inquiry of the Blue Ribbon committee.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Friday formed a special investigation committee to look into the claims of Rabusa and at the same time determine possible administrative and criminal liabilities of those involved.
Mabanta said many reform measures have been adopted since the Garcia controversy, including the abolition of the office of the AFP deputy chief of staff for comptrollership whose functions and responsibilities are now performed by three units.
Mabanta also said that the military has even pursued cases against some officers who were involved in the illegal "conversion." He could not say the status of these cases, the number of the officers charged, and specifically when these were committed.
"We have ongoing cases of conversion against some military personnel. I don't really have the list (of those being prosecuted). I just like to say the Armed Forces does not tolerate conversion. There are cases (of conversion) but as a matter of policy, we don't tolerate conversion," he said.
"That pabaon is already gone. That's a thing of the past. We've come up with innovations, changes because of the Garcia anomaly. Now, I would say that this (corruption in the past) was only substantiated by George Rabusa," he said.
Mabanta said the current controversy would not shake the foundation of the AFP, stressing the allegations occurred in the past.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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