EX-COMPTROLLER GARCIA MISSING? / OPINION: TRILLANES AND GARCIA
(EARLIER PHOTO - Acquitted. former AFP Comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos GARCIA appears at the promulgation of his perjury case. In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Sandiganbayan executive clerk of court Renato Bocar said the court's First Division cleared Garcia of charges that he failed to disclose fully his properties in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Networth (SALN) declared in 1997. At least two senators, JINGGOY & MIRIAM, last week accused former Defense chief Angelo Reyes of possible collusion with former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, accused as alleged plunderer who amassed over P300 million in ill-gotten wealth while in active service. Reyes, as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief, headed the Defense Department from 2001 to middle of 2003. Garcia was military comptroller from March 2001 to September 2003. Former Defense Secretary and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes last Tuesday, Jan. 18, broke his silence to deny that he was not the "powerful person" behind retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia. INQUIRER REPORT- Reyes: I am not 'powerful man' behind Carlos Garcia )
MANILA, JANUARY 25, 2011 (STAR) By Christina Mendez - Has former military comptroller Carlos Garcia gone into hiding?
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV told reporters yesterday he has received information that Garcia is missing.
"We have yet to ascertain the veracity of the information but that's what we heard… because everybody's trying to locate (him) for good reason, but some people may not want that to happen," he said.
The former Navy officer said some people might not want Garcia to resurface in view of the congressional inquiries into circumstances behind his plea bargaining agreement with the government.
"As of today, we are still locating him," he said.
Trillanes said he and Garcia became close during their detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame from 2005 to 2007.
"We have yet to ascertain the facts regarding the matter but from what we heard, he's nowhere to be found," he said.
Trillanes said during their detention he and Garcia shared experiences, and that the former military general went to the extent of revealing who his supposed "principals" were in the alleged corruption case.
However, Garcia stopped talking about his case when his two sons were allowed to post bail in the United States, Trillanes said.
Personnel from the Office of the Senate Sgt-at-Arms were able to hand an invitation for Garcia to attend a Senate hearing on Thursday to his lawyer, Constantino de Jesus, at his office in Makati yesterday.
However, Trillanes doubts that Garcia would be able to flee abroad since he has a pending hold departure order.
Garcia cannot go to the United States because the US government is also hostile to him, he added.
Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, Senate
Blue Ribbon committee chairman, has set a hearing on the Garcia case on Thursday.
Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Sen. Francis Escudero have questioned the plea bargaining agreement between Garcia and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Garcia's classmate at Philippine Military Academy Class of 1971, said that he will inhibit himself from the inquiry.
House starts probe on Garcia deal
The House of Representatives starts today its inquiry into the plea bargaining agreement between former military comptroller Garcia and the OSP.
Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., justice committee chairman, said he has invited Garcia, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and several resource persons to the inquiry.
The investigation is "in aid of legislation," he added.
Tupas said one aspect of the deal that the committee would look into is at what stage of an investigation or trial could an accused propose a plea bargain under which he would evade a serious charge and admit to a lesser crime.
The inquiry has nothing to do with the two impeachment complaints against Gutierrez pending with the committee, he added.
As of yesterday afternoon, the justice committee has not received any response from either Garcia or Gutierrez.
Also invited were the prosecutors handling the case against Garcia, Solicitor General Anselmo Cadiz, former ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, and former special prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio.
The investigation was prompted by a privilege speech delivered by Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez and a resolution filed by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez questioning the plea bargaining agreement.
Military readies evidence vs Garcia
The military is ready to provide records to authorities to prove that Garcia had committed plunder.
Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said the military will furnish authorities court-martial records that can be used against Garcia.
"The court-martial hearing on Garcia has been completed," he said.
"The transcripts and documentation as regards the court-martial case against General Garcia can be made available if requested."
Mabanta said military officers privy to Garcia's alleged illegal activities will also testify against the former military general.
"Officers who are willing to shed light (on the case) can make themselves available in relation to that statement of Malacañang," he said.
"If anyone will come forward, we will gladly say our piece. Transparency is very important."
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte urged young military officers to testify on the plunder case against Garcia.
"We will not reject anyone who will come forward. Under President Aquino's administration, anyone who comes out and speaks the truth will have our full support," she said.
"If there are officers who know something about the case, we encourage them to go to the Solicitor General."
Valte said Armed Forces chief Gen. Ricardo David Jr. had asked the solicitor-general what the military could do to strengthen the government's case against Garcia.
The military is the aggrieved party in the case, she added.
In 2005, Garcia was convicted and sentenced to hard labor by a court-martial and dishonorably dismissed from the service.
Garcia, his wife Clarita, and three sons are facing criminal charges, including plunder, for allegedly amassing about P300 million while the military officer was in service.
The OSP has entered into a plea bargaining agreement with Garcia in which he would plead guilty to the lesser offenses of direct bribery and money laundering.
It also allowed Garcia to return only P135 million of the P303 million he allegedly stole from the government.
Last Dec. 18, the Sandiganbayan allowed Garcia to post P60,000 bail.
However, the military had questioned why it had not been consulted on the deal. – With Jess Diaz, Alexis Romero
EARLIER INQUIRER OPINION
RE: TRILLANES AND GARCIA
Trillanes version vs FCR, which to believe? GET REAL By Solita Collas-Monsod Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 23:24:00 01/14/2011
IN RESPONSE to my Christmas Day column, Rey Robles, spokesperson for Antonio Trillanes, wrote to this newspaper that Trillanes was not "silent" with respect to the plea bargain and release of retired Major General Carlos Garcia from jail; that not only did Trillanes comment last December 22 but had said, back in 2004, that the case against Garcia was exactly what his Magdalo group sought to expose at Oakwood. (Inquirer, 12/31/10)
Robles also said that my reliance on the Feliciano Commission Report (FCR) on the Oakwood Mutiny is misplaced because it was "far from the balanced, objective account" that I made it out to be, the report having been prepared ("largely without the participation of those involved in the incident") by handpicked Arroyo appointees who treated Trillanes, et al. as if "it [the investigation] was a public inquisition of them rather than a fact-finding probe on the corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines that it was supposed to be."
Robles' response, which presumably reflects his principal's thinking, reinforces my poor opinion of the latter. Let me explain: Robles says that Trillanes spoke to the media about Garcia at the December 22 Senate Kapihan (NB: all of six days after the latter's release), which was reported by a "local broadsheet" the next day. That was news to me, and because the broadsheet was not named, I googled and yahooed "Trillanes on Garcia" any number of ways. No luck. But I will take Robles' word that Trillanes did say something, and accept that this was probably forgotten because of his other pronouncements (e.g., "no regrets," "no apologies").
Robles then says that "Prior to this (the December 22 Senate Kapihan—SCM), Trillanes was under detention and did not have ready access to the media." Now, that excuse does not wash. Trillanes spent P21.1 million in 2009, and likely more last year. How much does it cost to e-mail or fax the media? Furthermore, Trillanes has a website with a "Media" section, which contains his "Statements" and "Press Releases," as well as "Articles" (about him, all favorable)—every year since 2007. Nary a word on Garcia in any of these.
Moreover, while Garcia was released on bail on December 16, there was news as early as September that a plea bargain was in the offing. With more than 40 personnel in Trillanes' staff, it should not be too much to expect that one of them apprised him of it, considering that the claimed objective of Oakwood was to protest military corruption. Yet nothing came out of the Trillanes camp.
Thus I stand by what I said about the case of the dog that didn't bark in the night.
It cannot escape notice either that while Trillanes is now (after the new year) definitely barking—i.e., expressing his "outrage" at the Ombudsman—he somehow manages to treat Garcia with kid gloves, uncaring about the resulting inconsistencies, to wit:
1. Trillanes was quoted as saying that having expressed outrage about Garcia in 2004, expressing it again would be redundant—"parang misdirected ho iyon." But he has repeatedly expressed outrage against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
2. Trillanes was also quoted as saying that Garcia's plea bargain is an isolated case that will not affect morale in the military. So then why all his outrage against the Ombudsman? Is he saying that the military is more forgiving than civilians? But if so, why all those coup attempts?
3. Trillanes is most recently asserting that Garcia was merely fronting for higher officials, which info was apparently relayed by Garcia himself while they were playing basketball in detention. How cozy. So why didn't Trillanes expose this earlier?
Now on the alleged lack of independence of the Feliciano Commission (FC) because its members were "handpicked" by President Macapagal-Arroyo and presumably did her bidding.
For lack of space, just a few salient points about the FC composition: retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Florentino Feliciano (appointed to the high court by President Cory Aquino), former member of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, as chair; retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Minerva Gonzaga-Reyes (appointed by President Joseph Estrada), who had also served in the ministry of justice of both the Marcos and the Cory Aquino administrations, as vice chair; Fr. Joaquin Bernas, dean emeritus of the Ateneo Law School, member of the 1987 Constitutional Commission, author of countless law books and articles; Dr. Carolina Hernandez, UP political science professor, also a member of the Davide Commission, a widely published author and expert in regional security and foreign relations, the military in politics, democracy and development, and Philippine domestic politics and foreign policy. All four are public figures with unblemished reputations for independence and scholarship. Hardly the kind who would do anybody's bidding.
The other members are former Commodore Rex Robles, who was implicated in two coup attempts against the Cory administration, and former Capt. Roland Narciso, a classmate of Trillanes in PMA Class '95. All six signed the FCR.
As to the alleged non-participation of those involved in the coup, the record will show that the Feliciano Commission took testimonies in various forms from 95 witnesses, including four who were or became chiefs of staff and, many of the officers and men who participated in the coup attempts except for some six principals (including Trillanes). These were supported by sworn statements, videos, exhibits and other pieces of material evidence.
I don't know about the rest of you, folks, but I'll stick with the version of the Feliciano Commission Report over the version of someone who was caught lying, and someone who thinks that the commission was formed to probe the corruption in the AFP.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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