No kubol in Bilibid for convicted General Garcia

There will be no VIP treatment for former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, detained after a military court found him guilty of violating Articles of War, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Sunday. “My instruction is no VIP treatment, yet in full recognition of his rights as a person deprived of liberty," De Lima said in a text message. Garcia was arrested last Friday from his Quezon City residence and was brought to the National Bilibid Prison to serve his two-year sentence. The arrest came six years after a court martial found him guilty of violating Articles of War 96 and 97 for misdeclaring his assets and hiding his status as permanent US resident while still in active service. De Lima said she ordered Bureau of Corrections director Gaudencio Pangilinan, a retired military general, not to accord Garcia any preferential treatment such as granting him living-out status or allowing him to own a “kubol" (small cottage). Garcia would also not be credited with the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) usually given to inmates, De Lima said as she noted that unlike common criminals, Garcia was sent to jail by a general court martial and not by a civilian court. “Hence, civilian penal laws such as the Revised Penal Code, which allow for GCTA, won't apply," she said. However, she said she will still confirm if the military court also recognizes GCTA. — KBK/HS, GMA News