2 kritiko ng plea bargain ni ex-Gen Garcia, ipinapa-contempt sa Sandiganbayan

MANILA – Hiniling ng Office of the Ombudsman nitong Miyerkules sa Sandiganbayan Second Division na i-cite for indirect contempt sina dating Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo at dating Chief Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio. Sa 22-pahinang petisyon ng Ombudsman, sinabing dapat parusahan sina Marcelo at Villa-Ignacio dahil sa pagbigay ng maling impormasyon kay Pangulong Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III, tungkol sa kasong plunder at money laundering laban kay dating military comptroller (ret) Maj. Gen Carlos Garcia. Mali umano ang impormasyon na ibinigay ng dalawa kay Aquino na ibinasura ng Sandiganbayan Second Division ang inihain ni Garcia na “demurrer to evidence" para palabasin na malakas ang plunder case laban sa dating heneral at hindi dapat pinasok ang kasunduan. “Records of Crim. Case Nos. 28107 and SB-09-CRIM-0194 will confirm that there was no Demurrer to Evidence filed by Gen. Garcia as mentioned in the 20 December 2010 open letter of Attys. Marcelo and Villa-Ignacio and during Atty. Marcelo’s radio and television interviews," ayon sa petisyon ng Ombudsman. “It is beyond question that the deceiving information forwarded by Attys. Marcelo and Villa-Ignacio in order to advance whatever cause they may have unduly undermines the public’s trust and confidence in the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Special Prosecutor. It is even ironic that these misleading statements came from former officials of the Office of the Ombudsman," idinagdag prosekusyon. Idinagdag sa petisyon na inamin din umano ni Marcelo sa isang pagdinig ng Kongreso na ibinasura ng korte ang naturang “demurrer to evidence." “While Attys. Marcelo and Villa-Ignacio apparently have represented to President Aquino and the public that they are responsible citizens, if not heroes, of this country by making known the alleged infirmities of the Plea Bargaining Agreement, they did not display the same degree of accountability for their misleading statements," ayon sa petisyon. “Indeed, Atty. Marcelo easily shifted the blame on an alleged informant feeding him erroneous information as if the damaging effects of his and Villa-Ignacio’s deceiving statements were negligible," ayon pa Ombudsman. Tutol sina Marcelo at Villa-Ignacio sa pinasok na plea bargain agreement ng Ombudsman kay Garcia dahil lugi umano rito ang gobyerno. Naniniwala ang dalawa na sapat at matibay ang katibayan para mahatulan ang dating heneral. Isinampa ang kaso laban kay Garcia sa Sandiganbayan nang panahon na si Marcelo ang namumuno sa Ombudsman. Ayon kay Villa-Ignacio, gumagawa lamang ng paraan ang Ombudsman upang mailihis ang atensiyon sa kontrobersiyal na plea bargain agreement na pinasok kay Garcia. "They're trying to divert attention from a highly irregular, anomalous deal. They should have just focused on withdrawing the deal," pahayag ni Villa-Ignacio sa panayam sa telepono ng GMA News Online. - GMA News