Senator Franklin Drilon on Thursday sought the creation of three pieces of legislation in light of the Senate's findings in the course of their inquiry on the controversial plea bargain deal between former military comptroller Carlos Garcia and the Office of the Ombudsman as well as the alleged corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. According to Drilon, who chairs the Senate finance committee, what are needed are:
a law to "regulate" plea bargaining; amendment to Republic Act 9160 (Anti-Money Laundering Act0; and amendment to RA 6770 (Ombudsman Act of 1989). In seeking a law to regulate plea bargaining, Drilon cited the case of Garcia, who is facing plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan but was allowed to walk free after pleading guilty to direct bribery and violation of the anti-money laundering law. In calling for an amendment to RA 9160, Drilon cited the "massive" withdrawals made by some military officials in connection with the alleged corruption in the Armed Forces. "We have seen how the financial institutions have totally ignored their own rule of Know Your Customer by allowing the general in the Armed Forces, with no known income sufficient to justify his P740 million deposit in their banks.... not raising a flag or just allowing the deposits to be made and in effect making their financial institutions the haven for corruption," he said. On the Ombudsman Act, Drilon noted that the law never intended to give the Office of the Ombudsman the power to prosecute. "We would present to the committee a proposal that the special prosecutor be made independent of the Ombudsman so that they can decide on their own," he said. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/KBK, GMA News 
GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
