OSG narrates plea bargain facts

This pertains to the news article in your prestigious paper entitled, “OSG, AMLC alerted months ago about Garcia plea bargain,” by Michael Punongbayan (Philippine STAR, 12/28/10, p. 14).

In that article, Mr. Punongbayan wrote that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) knew of the plea bargaining agreement between the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and former military comptroller Gen. Carlos Garcia. It implied that the OSG knew of the plea bargaining agreement before it was approved by the Sandiganbayan. Please let us narrate to you the facts.

In February 2010, the OSP through Special Prosecutor (SP) Wendell Sulit and Gen. Garcia entered into a plea bargaining agreement, wherein Gen. Garcia pleaded guilty to the lesser offenses of indirect bribery. On May 4, 2010, the Sandiganbayan issued a Resolution directing the OSP to transfer the assets of Gen. Garcia which are the subject of the plea offer to the Government. In a letter dated September 6, 2010, SP Sulit asked Executive Director Vicente Aquino of the AMLC, to lift the Asset Preservation Order (APO) to comply with the Sandiganbayan’s Resolution. On September 7, 2010, Executive Director Aquino wrote Assistant Solicitor General (ASG) Roman G. del Rosario, on this matter. In a letter dated September 21, 2010, ASG del Rosario and Associate Solicitor Aristotle Mejia advised that it is more appropriate that the assets subject of the APO be transferred to the Republic of the Philippines.

The AMLC only wrote the OSG after the plea bargaining agreement between Gen. Garcia and the OSP was already approved by the Sandiganbayan. The OSG was not a party to the plea bargaining agreement and had no participation in the drafting of its terms. We request you to print this letter to clarify matters to your readers.