Senate probe on Garcia plunder set on Jan. 27

The Senate inquiry on the plunder case involving former Armed Forces comptroller Carlos Garcia will be held on Jan. 27 with the possible attendance of the embattled former military officer, Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said Thursday. In an interview, Guingona said the inquiry aims to look into the laws of plea bargaining and whether Garcia was in cahoots with anyone when he allegedly amassed P303.27 million in ill-gotten wealth while he was still in active service. "Hindi lang puwede mawala ng kalaking pera na hindi alam sa taas at sa tingin ko may mas malaking buwaya dito na dapat malaman natin (I think such a large amount of money could not have been stolen without the knowledge of his superiors)," said Guingona. Guingona made the announcement a day after Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago accused former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes of having a hand in Garcia’s alleged illegal activities. Reyes denied the accusation and challenged Estrada and Santiago to present evidence of his alleged involvement. Guingona said they have invited Garcia, Reyes, and representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman and special prosecutors to attend the hearing. He said they will be subpoenaed if ever they refuse to participate. "Kailangan managot sila kung bakit nga nagkaganito (They have to explain why this happened)," he said. Garcia, who was in charge of disbursement of military funds when he held the post of AFP comptroller, is by far the highest-ranking military official undergoing trial by the anti-graft court for the crime of plunder, or graft and corruption on a massive scale. He walked free after entering 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 AMLA. Plunder is a non-bailable capital offense punishable by reclusion perpetua. Direct bribery, on the other hand, is punishable by six years to 12 years imprisonment under the Revised Penal Code. 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." On Wednesday, Senate Minority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano filed the Senate resolution seeking an inquiry into the controversial plea bargain. - KBK, GMANews.TV