Ex-Ombudsman calls Garcia plea bargain deal defective

Former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo on Thursday said the bargaining agreement entered into by former Armed Forces comptroller Carlos Garcia with the Office of the Ombudsman was "defective." "The plea bargaining agreement, number one, I submit is defective because it is without the consent of the offended party," Marcelo said during Thursday's Senate inquiry on the controversial plea bargain. He explained said that under Section 2 Rule 116 of the Rules of Court, a plea bargaining agreement should only be allowed with the consent of the offended party and the state prosecutors. In this case, he said the offended party is the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Office of the President since the President is the commander-in-chief of the military. During the hearing, Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin confirmed that they were not consulted on the plea bargaining agreement. "The consent of the President should have (also) been secured," said Marcelo.

Further, the former Ombudsman said that the plea bargain shouldn't have been allowed because there was enough evidence against Garcia. "The Supreme Court said that the rules allow such only when the prosecution does not have sufficient evidence to establish the guilt of the crime," he said. Plea bargain or bargain sale? In his opening statement, Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Senator Teofisto Guingona III said Thursday's inquiry aims to look into the plea bargain and whether Garcia was in cahoots with anyone when he amassed P303.27 million in ill-gotten wealth while he was still in active service. "Kasunduan ba o kaayusan. Bargain ba ito o (Was this a bargain or a) bargain sale," he said. 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. He walked free after entering a plea bargaining agreement with the Office of the Ombudsman by pleading not guilty to charges of plunder and violation of Sec. 4-A of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and guilty to the charges of direct bribery and Section 4-B of the AMLA before the Sandiganbayan's Second Division. 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." As of posting time, the Senate hearing was ongoing. Garcia and former Defense chief Angelo Reyes, accused of being in collusion with the former AFP comptroller, were also present during the hearing. Reyes had denied allegations he had something to do with Garcia's alleged illegal activity. — RSJ, GMANews.TV