UPDATED MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has turned over to the Bureau of Treasury over P53 million in cash and 11 Transfer Certificate of Titles (TCT) forfeited assets of former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Comptroller Carlos Garcia.
Retired Sandigabayan Associate Justice, now Ombudsman’s Special Prosecutor Edilberto G. Sandoval led the turnover of the cheque and the land titles to Officer-in-Charge Deputy Treasurer of the Philippines Eduard Anthony Mariño III at a press conference Tuesday.
The certificate of titles are properties located in Baguio City, Batangas, Guimaras and Iloilo.
Garcia was criminally charged with separate cases of plunder and money laundering for conspiring with co-accused, including family members, to amass alleged ill-gotten wealth in the form of funds, landholdings, and other real and personal properties in the aggregate amount of over P303.2 million.
However, only Garcia was arraigned for both cases, eventually consolidated, to which he pleaded not guilty.
In 2010, Garcia entered into a plea bargaining agreement with the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which was approved and signed by then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
As agreed, Garcia withdrew his plea of not guilty to the crime of plunder and offered to enter a guilty plea to the lesser offense of indirect bribery.
He also offered to enter a plea of guilty to the lesser offense of facilitating money laundering as he withdrew his not guilty plea to the money laundering charges.
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