Plea bargaining deal helped recover money from Garcias

MANILA, Philippines - The recovery of $100,000 from the two sons of former military comptroller Carlos Garcia was a result of a plea bargaining agreement similar to the one between their father and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Documents obtained by The STAR from lawyer Jack Gillund of the US Attorney’s Office (USAO) in Northern California show that Juan Paulo Garcia, 30, of Pontiac, Michigan and Ian Carl Garcia, 33, of Las Vegas, were convicted of cash smuggling in November 2010.

The conviction came after both pleaded guilty to the charges and agreed to forfeit the $100,000 seized from them in December 2003 by United States Customs officers.

Juan Paulo and Ian Carl were caught trying to smuggle cash into the US by concealing the amount in their luggage.

They were indicted in December 2008, arrested in February 2009, and sentenced to time served almost two years later after forging a deal with the USAO.

In exchange for their guilty pleas and the forfeiture of the money seized from them, the US agreed to dismiss the remaining charges of conspiracy and making false statements to authorities against them and recommend a sentence of time served.

Senior US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, in separate decisions, ordered them to pay $100 in fines and not for “restitution.”  

On Thursday, US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. turned over the $100,000 to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales as “a symbol of United States support” for the country’s efforts to fight corruption.

During the turnover, US Department of Justice (USDOJ) attaché Robert Courtney III said the extradition case against Garcia’s sons and their mother Clarita is still pending before US courts.

Meanwhile, the plea bargain deal between their father and the former leadership of the Office of the Ombudsman remains idle because of opposition from Malacañang, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), and Ombudsman Morales.

It was Morales’ predecessor Merceditas Gutierrez who approved the deal. Gutierrez was forced to resign just as she was about to face a Senate impeachment trial.

Sources said the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division is expected to issue a ruling soon on the plea bargain deal.

Under the plea bargain deal, the former military general agreed to return P135.4 million of the more than P300 million he allegedly stole in exchange for the downgrading of his plunder case to direct bribery and facilitating money laundering. The OSG is contesting the deal, saying it is disadvantageous to the government.

Sources said Garcia’s property in the US, like the $100,000 seized from his two sons, can only be recovered if he is convicted of a criminal offense as required under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the US and the Philippines.