'Garcia didn't admit he's AFP comptroller'

MANILA, Philippines –  After denying that he had plundered more than P300 million in taxpayers’ money, former military general Carlos Garcia now claims to have never admitted being a comptroller, a position that would have given him vast control over disbursement of funds.

“There was no admission that he held the position of comptroller. There were many major generals in the military but not all of them were comptroller,” Garcia’s lawyer Constantino de Jesus told the Sandiganbayan Second Division. De Jesus said that there was only a reference to Garcia’s rank as major general and not as comptroller.

But the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) laughed off De Jesus’ claim, saying it won’t weaken the plunder case against the retired military official.

Assistant Solicitor General Amparo Cabotaje-Tang said they would continue to oppose the plea bargaining agreement between the accused and the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“If he (Garcia) was not allowed to plead guilty to lesser offense of direct bribery, he would not be out on bail. He continues to be charged with plunder,” Cabotaje-Tang told the anti-graft court. Also under the plea bargain deal, Garcia promised to return P130 million to the government.

Cabotaje-Tang stressed that any public official who amassed P50 million or more in ill-gotten wealth should be charged with plunder.

The OSG earlier filed a petition for intervention following the announcement of a plea bargaining agreement between Garcia and the Office of the Special Prosecutor under the Office of the Ombudsman.

The OSG through Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz also recently filed a supplemental motion before the anti-graft court for the re-arrest and re-arraignment of Garcia, as well as for the cancellation of his bail.

The OSG maintained that Garcia’s arraignment for direct bribery was void from the very beginning.

Cadiz also stressed the agreement was made in violation of the provisions of criminal procedure under the Rules of Court.

De Jesus, meanwhile, claimed that he and Garcia have not talked since the latter’s release on bail last month. “But eventually, I will talk to him,” De Jesus said.

Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Teresita Diaz-Baldos directed Ombudsman prosecutors and defense lawyers to file their comment on the OSG’s Original and Supplemental Motion for Garcia’s re-arrest on or before Jan. 25, while the OSG was also directed to file its consolidated reply 15 days from receipt of the comments.