A SENIOR official of the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Thursday that he was considering leaving his post or taking a leave of absence after he was named in the plunder case that was filed by whistle-blower George Rabusa with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Defense Assistant Secretary for Comptrollership Ernesto Boac said he could best prepare for the charges if he would resign from his post or take an indefinite leave of absence.
He also said he does not want to be a burden to the DND and wants to set an example among officials in the government, especially now that Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is in the middle of instituting reforms in the defense establishment.
“There will be investigation. If cleared, I’m in a better position to discharge my functions. I don’t want the secretary to be criticized. We are institutionalizing reforms and I’m directly involved in this initiatives, so there are complexities in this situation,” Boac said.
Rabusa named Boac, who is a retired military official, in the amended complaint for plunder that he filed with the justice department.
The whistle-blower, who retired from the military with the rank of lieutenant colonel, also named four other respondents, including the Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command chief, Lt. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, in his amended complaint.
Pangilinan declined to comment on the complaint, but some officers said his inclusion as respondent in the charges could have been a way of Rabusa to get back on the official.
As the chief of the Armed Forces counterintelligence group when he was still a field-grade officer, Pangilinan investigated Rabusa for his alleged involvement in corrupt activities.
Rabusa had admitted that he took part in corrupt activities, being the budget officer of the dissolved Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership (J-6).
In naming Boac, who is also the head of the Bids and Awards Committee of the DND, in the amended complaint, Rabusa claimed that the defense official could have participated in corrupt activities in the military, having been a former budget officer of the J-6.
Boac said he could not confirm nor deny the allegations of Rabusa as he has yet to receive a copy of the amended complaint.
For now, he said he was weighing his options on whether he should resign or go into indefinite leave of absence, a decision that he had already consulted with Gazmin.
“I can’t preempt the decision of the secretary. Among my options were to resign or to go on indefinite leave without pay. This will also give me the opportunity to answer the allegations,” a teary eyed Boac said.
“Because of the very critical position I hold, I believe, perhaps an indefinite leave of absence is a better option,” he added.
Boac served as budget officer of the J-6 from 1986 up to 1992. He retired from the service in February 2008 as commander of the Army’s 10th Infantry “Agila” Division.
