DOJ chief questions turnover of Garcia's assets to govt

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday questioned the reported turnover to the government of more than P135-million worth of assets of former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) comptroller Carlos F. Garcia. De Lima asked why the assets were turned over even if the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has yet to approve the plea bargain agreement that the former military general entered into with the Office of the Ombudsman. "The turnover's basis is hazy. The deal is not yet approved. I'm not aware of the Sandiganbayan approving the deal," said De Lima at a news briefing on Tuesday. Garcia is facing a plunder case at the Sandiganbayan for allegedly amassing more than P300 million when he was in charge of the disbursement of military funds as AFP comptroller. He is by far 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. Plunder is a non-bailable offense but the Sandiganbayan allowed the former general to post a P60,000 bail and walk out of jail on December 18 last year after he pleaded guilty to the lighter offense of direct bribery. On Tuesday, De Lima once again criticized the plea bargain deal, saying it implies that "big fish" offenders can go scot-free. She said that while Garcia's P135-million worth of assets have been reportedly returned to the government, the government should prioritize the recovery of the P300 million Garcia allegedly plundered. "Is that enough? P100 plus million? If you compare it to the lesson and the signal that you will get from this, to teach and make him an example of other big fishes [being punished], the amount seems insubstantial. It seems insignificant," said De Lima. PDI report The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on Tuesday that Garcia's P135.433 million worth of assets were already transferred to the government. The assets include his vehicles and manager's checks, among others. The transfer is under the terms of the plea bargain agreement. The transfer was also by virtue of the Sandiganbayan Second Division's August 11, 2010 order mandating government agenices to turn over Garcia's properties listed under the plea bargain deal. The order was issued even before the anti-graft court approved the plea bargain agreement. The PDI report quoted former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo as saying that the list of assets in the August 11 order "overlapped" with another list for a separate forfeiture case against Garcia that is being handled by the Sandiganbayan's Fourth Division. Marcelo said that if the assets listed in the plea bargain deal were already turned over to the government, then the pending forfeiture case may be rendered defective. At the news briefing on Tuesday, De Lima asked whether the assets in plea bargain deal indeed overlapped with the assets in the forfeiture case. "If they are the same, why bother to strike a deal when there's a forfeiture case?" she asked. – VVP, GMANews.TV