MANILA, Philippines - The military yesterday vowed to cooperate in the investigation of former defense officials in alleged complicity with former Armed Forces comptroller Carlos Garcia.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said they are willing to provide evidence that can help in investigating these former officials.
“One of the main objectives of the present administration is to see to it that there is transparency. If we are asked to submit any document or testimony that may shed light on this controversy, the Armed Forces will comply,” Mabanta said. “The Armed Forces is all out for being able to find out what happened.”
Mabanta said the military leadership would not protect anyone found guilty of stealing from state coffers.
He said the probe would help erase perceptions that the AFP is tolerating corruption within its ranks.
“Through such (investigation), the Armed Forces will come out as a better institution,” Mabanta said.
Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez last week called for a probe on former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, pointing out that Garcia could not have stolen millions from state funds by himself.
Golez also accused Reyes of being Garcia’s padrino (backer).
Garcia served as AFP comptroller when Reyes was the defense chief.
Lawmakers led by Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano suggested that the investigation must not stop with Garcia but possibly other officials who were in connivance with the former general.
Cayetano said Garcia is the key in identifying the other people involved in the plunder of AFP funds.
Malacañang had said it would not prevent any investigation on the alleged involvement of Reyes and other officials in the charges filed against Garcia.
“If there is evidence that would show Angelo Reyes (was involved), then we don’t see any reason why he should not be investigated,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Saturday.
Garcia, his wife Clarita, and three sons are facing criminal charges, including plunder, for supposedly amassing over P300 million while serving as comptroller of the AFP.
Two of Garcia’s sons, Juan Paulo and Ian Carl, were also charged with bulk cash smuggling for allegedly trying to smuggle $100,000 into the US.
In 2005, Garcia was convicted and sentenced to hard labor by a military court martial and ordered dishonorably dismissed from service.
The Ombudsman has accepted a plea bargain agreement offered by Garcia to plead guilty to the lesser offenses of direct bribery and money laundering.
The Ombudsman defended its decision to accept the plea bargain, saying the plunder case filed against the discharged general is weak. Garcia was freed from detention last Dec. 18 after posting P60,000 bail.
The plea bargain agreement also allowed Garcia to return only P135 million of the P303 million he allegedly amassed.
The plea bargain drew more criticism after The STAR columnist Jarius Bondoc published last month a statement of Garcia’s wife detailing the perks she enjoyed while her husband was in service.
The statement was intended to convince the US immigration that she and her husband owned the $100,000 cash seized from her sons in 2003 at the San Francisco airport.
Clarita said her husband received travel money and expenses in excess of several thousands of dollars. She even claimed that she often traveled with shopping money in excess of $10,000 to $20,000.
President Aquino has ordered Solicitor-General Joel Cadiz to stop the plea bargain and is bent on pursuing plunder charges against Garcia.
The AFP also said it was not consulted in the plea bargaining agreement with Garcia, which is the reason why it is seeking legal remedies through the effort of the Office of the Solicitor General.
US authorities also claimed they were not consulted on the deal with Garcia.
In a statement seeking to clarify its role in the Garcia case, the US embassy posted a statement on its website the other day that no consultations were made on the plea bargain agreement.
The US embassy, however, admitted being informed by the Philippine authorities on the issue.
“As part of the routine communication related to the extraditions, Philippine authorities informed the US of the Garcia plea agreement. The US had no role in its negotiation and was not consulted on its terms,” the statement said.
US authorities subsequently filed criminal charges against Garcia’s sons for attempting to smuggle $100,000 cash.
“It is a matter of public record that the sons pleaded guilty in 2010 and were sentenced to time already served, two years’ probation and forfeiture of $100,000,” the US embassy said.
The US embassy also said that last December, the Philippine Department of Justice filed a request invoking the Philippine-US Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in asking for the return of the $100,000 cash. They said the process is still ongoing.
“In addition, and at the request of the Government of the Philippines, petitions were filed in US district courts for the extradition of Mrs. Garcia and three Garcia sons from the United States to the Philippines. The four family members were arrested for the extradition proceedings that are now pending,” the US embassy said.
“As embassy officials informed the Philippine Office of the Ombudsman, the US DOJ is working with the US Marshals Service to provide a tracking system that would enable countries to trace and account for assets that have been forfeited,” the embassy added. - With Rainier Allan Ronda - By Alexis Romero
