Military arrests ex-comptroller Garcia

MANILA, Philippines - Military officials announced that former comptroller Carlos P. Garcia was arrested this morning at his house in Quezon City.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban said in a media forum that Garcia was arrested based on the guilty verdict issued by the military court for the former comptroller's violation of Articles of War 96 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman) and 97 (conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline).

Both officials said that Garcia was taken by personnel of the AFP Provost Martial, assisted by separate military and police teams, from his house in Project 6, Quezon City at around 9 a.m. They said that the arresting teams were deployed to the former general's residence as early as 7 a.m.

"This morning, we effected the implementation of the [arrest] order," Oban announced, adding that Garcia has been brought to the compound of the Intelligence Service of the AFP, inside Camp Aguinaldo.

Garcia was transferred by the military to the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City in the afternoon.

In a phone interview with philstar.com, military spokesman Arnulfo Burgos said Garcia "offered no resistance during the arrest."

Garcia was found guilty of the two Articles of War by the military court on Dec. 3, 2005. He was sentenced to spend two years in military prison with hard labor and ordered discharged from the service. His salary and allowances from the military were also ordered forfeited.

Gazmin said that the military court's order was implemented after the confirmation of President Benigno Aquino III last September 9.

Garcia had recently been implicated during the Senate's hearing on the alleged "pabaon" system in the military during the time of the late military chief Angelo Reyes.

Reyes committed suicide while the hearing was ongoing.

Former military budget officer George Rabusa also told the Senate during the hearings that former military chiefs Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu received send-off money during their time.

Plea bargain

Garcia was put on military trial after being accused of amassing P303 million ill-gotten wealth while in military service.

Plunder and money laundering cases were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman, during the time of Simeon Marcelo, based on the same accusation.

Garcia had been arrested and stayed in jail for several years, until he entered into a plea-bargaining agreement with the Office of the Ombudsman, during the time of Merceditas Gutierrez.

The deal, which allowed Garcia to plead guilty to a lower offense of indirect bribery and post bail, was approved by the Sandiganbayan.

Under the agreement, Garcia was to surrender P135 million in assets, including the P51.51 million from various bank accounts, P21.27 million in real estate properties in the country, P4.42 million worth of motor vehicles, the Trump condominium in New York worth P43.15-million, and two US bank accounts with total deposits of P13.85 million. -- Alexis Romero and Dennis Carcamo