AFP cooperating with OSG in petition to reconsider Garcia deal

Manila, Philippines - The military is working with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to ask the Sandiganbayan to reconsider its approval of the plea bargaining agreement between former military comptroller Carlos Garcia and the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said yesterday they are ready to comply with all the necessary legal procedures.

“We are now coordinating with the Office of the Solicitor General for our motion for reconsideration so we’ll have to follow the legal process pertaining to this particular case,” he said.

Speaking at a forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency in Quezon City, Oban said the Judge Advocate-General has been tasked to study the case of Garcia.

“We just have to abide by the legal procedures,” he said.

“In terms of support (for the case), it depends on how the legal procedures would come about.”

Armed Forces public affairs chief Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said they will watch closely the case filed against Sandiganbayan presiding Justice Edilberto Sandoval and Associate Justices Teresita Diaz-Baldos and Samuel Martires for approving the deal with Garcia.

““We remain watchful over the consequences of their decision and where it would lead us eventually,” he said.

Garcia, his wife Clarita, and three sons are facing criminal charges, including plunder, for allegedly amassing about P303 million in ill-gotten wealth.

Two of Garcia’s sons, Juan Paulo and Ian Carl, were also charged with bulk cash smuggling for allegedly bringing $100,000 into the US.

In 2005, Garcia was convicted and sentenced to hard labor by a military court and ordered dishonorably dismissed from service.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has accepted a plea bargain agreement offered by Garcia where he would plead guilty to the lesser offenses of direct bribery and money facilitating laundering.

It also allowed Garcia to return P135 million of the P303 million he allegedly stole from state funds.

In opposing the agreement, the military said it was not consulted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

The Sandiganbayan Second Division approved Garcia’s plea bargain deal last week.

Last Wednesday, former lawmaker Risa Hontiveros, anti-corruption advocate Leah Navarro and retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim filed before the Department of Justice criminal charges against Sandoval, Diaz-Baldos and Martires.