OSG says Garcia plea 'null, void'

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) yesterday accused the Sandiganbayan of illegally allowing former military comptroller Carlos Garcia to plead guilty to lesser offenses under a plea bargaining agreement in violation of the Rules of Court.

Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz filed a supplemental motion before the anti-graft court calling for the re-arrest of Garcia, another arraignment and cancellation of the bail granted to the former general.

“With all due respect, the arraignment of accused (former) Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia for the lesser crime of direct bribery under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code is null and void because the lesser crime of bribery is not necessarily included in the allegations in the Information charging him with plunder,” the OSG said.

Cadiz said Section 2, Rule 116 of the Revised Rules of Court presents the basic requirements upon which a plea bargaining agreement may be made.

He said an accused “may only plead guilty to a lesser offense as long as all the elements of the lesser offense constitute some of the essential elements or ingredients of the crime charged as alleged in the information.”

In Garcia’s case, Cadiz argued the accused was allowed to plead guilty to the crime of direct bribery despite being originally charged with a capital offense of plunder in April 2005.

Cadiz argued this could not have been allowed because the complaint does not accuse Garcia of the lesser offenses that he later pleaded guilty to under the plea bargaining agreement.

“Garcia cannot be legally allowed to plead guilty to the lesser offense of direct bribery since the same is not necessarily included in the crime of plunder as alleged in the said information,” he said.

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

The supplemental motion is expected to be heard by the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division on Friday.

Cadiz maintained Garcia’s arraignment for direct bribery is void from the very beginning.

“Sandiganbayan was wrong,” Cadiz said.

“We now have another equally solid ground to nullify the plea bargaining agreement,” he added, referring to the other arguments that the OSG raised in their earlier motion to intervene.

Cadiz said the plea bargaining agreement between Garcia and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) should be nullified for being illegal and disadvantageous to the government.

Asked for comment, officials of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) said they will answer the OSG’s arguments if ordered to in Friday’s hearing.

Last month, the Sandiganbayan allowed Garcia to be re-arraigned as one of the conditions set by a plea bargaining agreement, which the court stressed is yet to be approved.

Garcia entered a guilty plea to direct bribery and facilitating money laundering which allowed him to be released on P60,000 bail two days later.

Under the agreement, Garcia would be convicted of the lesser crimes and will surrender more than P135.4 million of his alleged ill-gotten wealth.

The OSG wants to stop the deal from happening and is now in a legal battle with the OSP and Garcia’s camp that both want the plea bargaining agreement to push through.

The Ombudsman defended its decision to accept the plea bargain, saying that the plunder case filed against the discharged general is weak.

President Aquino has ordered the OSG to stop the plea bargain and is bent on pursuing plunder charges against Garcia.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also said they were not consulted in the plea bargaining agreement, which is the reason why they are seeking legal remedies through the OSG.

The military also vowed to cooperate with the investigation of former defense officials in alleged complicity with Garcia.

Even retired military officials like former AFP chief Dionisio Santiago said he is open to providing information that can help those who will conduct a probe on Garcia’s alleged misdeeds.

“If they will investigate that, we are very open. We agree with that. I do not have any problems with that… we will cooperate. We will provide information the best way we know them,” he added.

Santiago said he is not involved in the irregularities attributed to Garcia, who is accused of stealing more than P300 million from state funds.

“Whatever they (investigators) will ask, I will answer,” he said.

Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez last week called for an investigation of former Defense secretary Angelo Reyes, saying Garcia could not have amassed millions from state funds by himself.

Golez also accused Reyes of being the “padrino” (backer) of the discharged general. Reyes was the defense chief when Garcia was AFP comptroller.

Malacañang had said it will not prevent any probe on the alleged involvement of Reyes and other officials in the cases filed against Garcia.

When asked if he had any inkling that Garcia would commit irregularities, Santiago said: “You cannot detect that. Our tours of duty were short. Once you assume the post, there are ongoing programs and you could barely change them.”

“As regards what is happening during the bidding process, again that’s the job of the logistics officer… we just monitor what is happening. We ask why this project was stalled, what are the problems, where is the money,” he said.

The Arroyo administration, under which Santiago served as AFP chief, was known for its “revolving door policy,” which means that leadership changes in the military were frequent.

A total of 13 AFP chiefs served under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, five of them, including Santiago, held the post while Garcia was military comptroller. The four others were Diomedio Villanueva, Roy Cimatu, Benjamin Defensor Jr., and Narciso Abaya.

Santiago, however, admitted that there are some procedures in the AFP that need to be improved.

“No one wants corruption. But is our system perfect to avoid that?” the former AFP chief remarked.

Santiago said there are some auditing requirements that are hard to comply with.

“There are many requirements for military commanders. For example, you would be asked to present a receipt. Are there receipts in the mountains?” he asked.

“We have program reviews… If the paperwork is well-made how can you detect the anomaly?” –With Alexis Romero