Court asked to convict Garcia

Government prosecutors have asked the Sandiganbayan Second Division to declare a general accused of plunder guilty of perjury for falsifying his statements of assets and liabilities.

In a memorandum to the anti-graft court, the prosecutors sought "a judgment of conviction" for Gen. Carlos Garcia, former comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The prosecutors said Garcia violated Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code. Garcia, who is under detention, is facing P303 million plunder charges. The memorandum was signed by Danilo Lopez and Jose Balmeo Jr.

The perjury case stemmed from the alleged false information provided by Garcia in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) for 1998.

In his 1998 SALN, Garcia pegged the worth of his vehicles at only P870,000.

The prosecutors said Garcia actually owned a Toyota Previa worth at least P521,797; Mitsubishi L-300 van de luxe, P424,583; and a 1997 Honda Civic 1.6 VTI, P564,000.

The prosecutors said the actual records they uncovered showed "material and false variance in his declaration under oath."