De Lima: Garcia plea bargain grounds to impeach Ombudsman

The "illegal" plea bargain agreement former Armed Forces comptroller Carlos Garcia entered into with the Office of the Ombudsman could be grounds for the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday. De Lima said the plea bargain that allowed Garcia to post a P60,000 bail last Saturday couldn't have been submitted to the Sandiganbayan without the imprimatur of Gutierrez herself. "I should say that can be a ground, that’s betrayal of public trust when you lackadaisically approve deals like that to the detriment of the people, the government — then that is betrayal of public trust," De Lima said in an interview with reporters on Monday. Earlier, the justice secretary said the agreement was "illegal" because Garcia's plea to a lesser offense was made long after trial had already started. Garcia entered a guilty plea to direct bribery and Section 4-B of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) before the Sandiganbayan's Second Division, but pleaded not guilty to the charges of plunder and violation of Sec. 4-A of the AMLA. The Sandiganbayan later on allowed him to post bail. "Bakit napakabilis ng pagpapalaya sa kanya? Di ba muna makahintay? Bakit pinag-post bail agad? (Why was he released right away? Why couldn't they wait? Why was he allowed to post bail?) The Ombudsman should be transparent of these things," De Lima said. "Bakit binigla tayo ng ganyang nakakaduda na mga moves, na nakaka-derail, nakaka-frustrate din at nakaka-apekto sa anti-corruption efforts ng current administration (Why were we stunned by suspicious moves which derail the anti-corruption efforts of the current administration)," De Lima said during the same interview. Gutierrez, an appointee of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and who is also closely associated with the family of the former president, is already facing a possible impeachment case before the House of Representatives. Gutierrez, however, petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify the resolutions of the House justice committee finding the two impeachment complaints against her sufficient in form and substance. She likewise asked the Court to issue a temporary restraining order against the committee. On the other hand, De Lima said the administration is already studying what legal actions should be taken against Special Prosecutor Wendell Barreras-Sulit and her team for the "deplorable abdication" of their duty to prosecute criminals, especially those accused of stealing from the nation's coffers. She likewise said that she will assign a team of prosecutors to assist the Office of the President in the investigation of Barreras-Sulit and in preparing the formal charges that may be filed against Gutierrez. Barreras-Sulit has defended the plea bargain with Garcia, saying there was nothing illegal about it. Ill-gotten wealth In 2003, Garcia was accused of amassing P303.27 million ill-gotten wealth while in active service with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). His wife Clarita and sons Ian Carl, Timothy Mark and Juan Carlo are his co-accused in the two cases. Charges of violations of the AMLA were filed against the Garcias after graft investigators found out that they had total deposits of P303.27 million, withdrawal of P73 million, and $967,215.99 in at least 10 banks, which investigators said constituted "unlawful activity" punishable under AMLA because the funds involved were proceeds of plunder. They also noted that in 2003, Garcia declared total assets of only P2.76 million in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN). 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. Garcia was detained at the National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame while his plunder case was being heard. The government was also exerting efforts to have his wife and children extradited from the United States. The Garcias are also named defendants in two forfeiture cases ongoing trial at the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division. However, during his arraignment on Thursday, the former general had pleaded guilty to lesser offenses in the two cases he's facing before the Sandiganbayan. On Saturday, he was allowed to post bail. - DM, GMANews.TV