Palace mum on Arroyo 'inaction' on Garcia 2005 conviction

Malacañang on Monday refused to comment on whether former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has any liability for supposedly not acting on the military court conviction of former Armed Forces comptroller Carlos Garcia in 2005. "I cannot categorically [answer]. I have a legal opinion there but I cannot voice my legal opinion. I would have to defer to the lawyers of the Defense Department kung ano po ang kanilang assessment po doon," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said. Lacierda, a lawyer by profession, said he was not fully aware of the processes that occurred during the past administration. A decision handed by the general court martial needs to be confirmed by the President, being the country’s commander in chief, before it can be implemented. Articles of War The court martial found Garcia guilty of violating Articles of War 96, or conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; and Articles of War 97, or conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline. The charges stemmed from Garcia's alleged misrepresentation of the value of his assets in 2002 and 2003, and for possession of US permanent resident status while still in the active service. Garcia retired in November 2004. On Dec. 2, 2005, Garcia was sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor and discharged from service. On Friday, Garcia was arrested by military authorities in his residence in Quezon City. Initially, he was detained inside the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) compound in Camp Aguinaldo and later on, transferred to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City. Shortly after Garcia's arrest, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin announced that President Benigno Aquino III approved the conviction of Garcia on September 9. It came five months after the Special Defense Investigation Committee that probed Garcia’s case submitted its recommendations to Gazmin. The committee recommended the investigation of former Defense chief Norberto Gonzales, former undersecretary for legislative affairs Arturo Lomibao and former undersecretary for legal affairs Arturo Valenzuela for alleged sitting on the court martial’s decision against Garcia. Lomibao has denied the accusation, saying the case was never brought before him while Gonzales refused to comment as he still has to gather information about the matter. Up to Mrs. Arroyo? Lacierda said he does not know if the investigation would reach up to the level of former President Arroyo, now representing Pampanga's second district in the House of Representatives. "We (he and Gazmin) didn’t discuss how far up it will go. All he told me was that there will be an investigation and so we left it at that," he said. He added that it took the Aquino administration a year to take action on the issue because they were initially unaware whether the court martial conviction has been confirmed or not by the former President. "It took some time to confirm first kung nasaaan na ‘yung decision, whether it was confirmed by former President Arroyo or not. And after everything has been concluded by the DND officials na wala pang confirmation from the former President, President Aquino decided to confirm it," he said. — RSJ, GMA News