Garcia worth P285 M, not P143 M — Ombudsman

Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia is worth P285 million, not only P143 million as reported earlier, Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo said yesterday.

Marcelo told reporters government prosecutors would file an amended complaint to correct the amount that Garcia was alleged to have unlawfully acquired.

"Garcia’s assets have reached P285 million, all in all," he said.

"This includes the $700,000 Trump Tower condo and his $245,000 bank deposits in the US. This is already frozen."

Garcia is also facing a separate case of perjury before the Sandiganbayan, he added.

Marcelo presented documents to reporters breaking down the P285 million as follows: P125 million cited in the first complaint, P123 million in the second complaint, P29 million in the third complaint, and "additional properties" worth P7.4 million.

The Office of the Ombudsman is also investigating Garcia’s wife Clarita, and their sons, Ian Carl, Juan Paolo, and Timothy Mark, for allegedly committing the crime of plunder, he added.

Office of the Ombudsman investigator Maria Olivia Elena Roxas said the plunder case against Garcia, a former Armed Forces comptroller, and his family is now undergoing preliminary investigation.

"Considering that, as earlier established, the Garcias have only P3.2 million in disposable income which can legitimately support property acquisitions, the assets are clearly ill-gotten," she said.

"Their receipt and pretended ownership thereof clearly constitute acts of conspiracy with Garcia to amass, accumulate and acquire ill-gotten wealth."

Meanwhile, Marcelo denied yesterday that former solicitor general Francisco Chavez and lawyer Mario Ongkiko had filed a plunder case against Garcia before the Office of the Ombudsman as they had claimed.

"They should do their homework," he said.

"They didn’t even bother to ask us. We just want to correct that misleading statement. A complaint for plunder has already been filed in the Ombudsman, and this is in the preliminary investigation stage."

The Office of the Ombudsman has been coordinating with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to trace some of Garcia’s hidden properties in the US, Marcelo added.