Despite plunder raps, former general freed on P60,000 bail

Despite being charged with the non-bailable offense of plunder, former Armed Forces of the Philippines comptroller Carlos Garcia walked out of his detention cell at the Philippine National Police headquarters before noon Saturday after the Sandiganbayan allowed him to post bail. Wearing a black shirt, Garcia walked out of the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame at 11:05 a.m. Saturday. Avoiding questions by media, the retired major general then left on board a black vehicle with his lawyer Constantino de Jesus, reportedly to proceed to La Vista Village along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.
Garcia, who was in charge of disbursement of military funds when he held the post of AFP comptroller, is by far the the highest-ranked military official undergoing trial by the anti-graft court for the crime of plunder, or graft and corruption on a massive scale. Garcia’s release came quickly after the Sandiganbayan's Second Division allowed him to post bail of P60,000 on Friday, following his lawyers’ motion for bail just the day before. (See: Sandiganbayan allows bail for ex-AFP comptroller) In what proved to be a pivotal trade-off move, Garcia on Thursday pleaded guilty to direct bribery and violation of Section 4-B of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), two lesser offenses he is facing before the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division. (See: Report: Ex-general Garcia pleads guilty to lesser offenses) During his arraignment, Garcia had pleaded not guilty to the charges of plunder and violation of Sec. 4-A of the AMLA. In Philippine law, plunder is a non-bailable capital offense punishable by life imprisonment. Direct bribery, on the other hand, is punishable by six years to 12 years imprisonment under the Revised Penal Code. Newspaper reports on Friday said Garcia’s camp made the plea bargain with the prosecution — allegedly on top of a commitment to return a substantial part of some P300 million he and his family is accused of having plundered or laundered — in exchange for provisional liberty and possibly a lighter sentence. There was no immediate confirmation by the Sandiganbayan that it officially approved the plea bargain agreement. However, Deputy Special Prosecutor Jesus Micael was cited by news reports as saying that the court "thoroughly" studied and approved the plea bargain deal, and that it would not have been approved if it had legal defects. Reached for comment on the eve of Garcia's release, AFP vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu said the military was respecting the court's decision to grant bail and allow Garcia temporary freedom because “that's part of the judicial system… If it's the law, it's the law." For his part, Philippine National Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. told GMA News' Rida Reyes that Garcia was treated like any normal detainee inside Camp Crame and was not accorded any VIP treatment during his six years in detention. 'Ill-gotten wealth' In 2003, Garcia was accused of amassing P303.27 million in ill-gotten wealth while in active AFP service. His wife Clarita and sons Ian Carl, Timothy Mark and Juan Carlo are his co-accused in the two major cases. Charges of violations of the AMLA were filed against the Garcias after graft investigators found out that they have a total deposit of P303.27 million and withdrawal of P73 million, and a total of $967, 215.99 in at least 10 banks, which investigators said constituted "unlawful activity" punishable under Republic Act 9160 because the funds involved were proceeds of plunder. Investigators also noted that in 2003, Garcia declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) P2.76 million in total asset. As AFP Comptroller until he was removed in 2005 due to graft charges, Garcia headed a powerful top-level office in charge of the disbursement of military funds. AMLA violations and penalties Under Section 4 of the AMLA, money laundering is described as "a crime whereby the proceeds of an unlawful activity are transacted, thereby making them appear to have originated from legitimate sources." Garcia had pleaded not guilty to the violation described in AMLA’s Section 4-A, when a person transacts or attempts to transact money or property knowing that it derived from “the proceeds of any unlawful activity." The penalty for violating Section 4-A is imprisonment from seven to 14 years, and a fine that may range from P3 million up to “twice the value of the monetary instrument or property involved in the offense." On the other hand, Garcia pleaded guilty to violating AMLA’s Section 4-B, by acting or failing to act “as a result of which he facilitates" a money laundering offense as described in Section 4-A. Garcia thus opted for a lighter penalty for violating Section 4-B, which is imprisonment from four to seven years and a fine that may range from P1 million to P3 million. 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. The government is now working to have Garcia's wife and children extradited from the United States. The Garcias are also named defendants in two forfeiture cases undergoing trial at the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division. Garcia, a member of the Philippine Military Academy batch 1971, was earlier acquitted of three perjury charges and convicted in one count, for which he received a short prison sentence that was mooted by his detention.—ACC/JV/HS, GMANews.TV