(Update) 2 Garcia sons enter not guilty plea before US court

MANILA, Philippines - The two sons of former Armed Forces comptroller Carlos Garcia on Thursday (Friday in Manila) entered a not guilty plea before a US court, which in turn set a $1-million or about P48-million bail bond for each of them. A radio report said Juan Paulo and Ian Carl Garcia made their plea in connection with the alleged smuggling of $100,000 into the US in December 2003. The two failed to declare the sum to customs officers when they arrived at the San Francisco International Airport. The report added that the bail bond was set by US Judge James Larson of the US District Court of San Francsico. Juan Paulo was arrested last Wednesday in Michigan while his brother was collared in Las Vegas, Nevada after they were indicted on December 9, 2008 by a grand jury. The four-page indictment against the two men said Juan Paulo concealed $50,000 inside a jacket of his hand-carried luggage, while Ian Carlo carried the same amount inside a pair of shoes and inner pocket of his hand-carried luggage aboard Philippine Airlines (PAL). The brothers also allegedly marked the “No" box, indicating they were not carrying more than $10,000. Under US policies, a traveler cannot bring in money worth $10,000 or more without declaring it to customs officials. The two brothers were ordered to appear in a federal court on March 18 for their smuggling charges. A week before that, however – on March 12 – the two are also set to appear in another hearing, this time for their extradition case. If found guilty, the two brothers may be imprisoned for 20 years and be fined for $250,000. The Garcia brothers and their parents are facing plunder charges in the Philippines for allegedly amassing P303.27 million of ill-gotten wealth. Earlier, the elder Garcia , a retired major general, was found guilty of perjury by the Sandiganbayan for misdeclaration of his statement of assets and liabilities in 2000. In December 2005, Garcia was convicted by a general court martial for having undeclared wealth. The court martial also dismissed him from the military and sentenced him to two years of hard labor. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV