·j

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SANDIGANBAYAN Quezon City

Second Division

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff,

CRIMINAL .CASE NOS. 28107 & SB-09-CRM-0194

FOR: PLUNDER and

MONEY LAUNDERING, Sec. 4(a) R.A. 9160 as

. Amended

- versus -

PRESENT:

CARLOS FLORES GARCIA, CLARITA D. GARCIA,

IAN CARL D. GARCIA,

JUAN PAOLO D. GARCIA, TIMOTHY MARK D. GARCIA, JOHN, JAMES and JANE DOES,

Accused.

SANDOVAL, J. Chairman DiIAZ-BALDOS, J.

MARTI RES, j.

PROMULGATED:

--tf_Z"1J-'L~

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RESOLUTION

Diaz-Baldos, J:

This refers to the Joint Motion (or Affrovat ,,( f(~ff Bargaining Agreement' submitted to this Court by both the prosecution and accused Major General Carlos F. Garcia on March 16, 2010, covering both cases for Plunder and for Violation of the AntiMoney Laundering Law. Its filing came after the accused had filed a Motion for Reconsideration from the Resolution of this Court promulgated on January 7, 2010 denying his Petition for Bail. In seeking the approval thereof, the parties invoked the ruling of the Honorable Supreme Court in the case of Jose/ito Raniero ]. Daan vs.

-- ~ Ph/hi

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Sandiqanbavan', citing therein People vs. viitarama', People vs. Kavanan', and People vs. Parohinoq, allowing plea bargaining after arraignment.

The Plea Bargai'ning Agreement was signed on behalf of the prosecution by Assistant Special Prosecutor II Joseph F. Capistrano, Assistant Special Prosecutor III Jose M. Balmeo, Ir., Actlnq Deputy Special Prosecutor Jesus A. Micael, Deputy Special Prosecutor Robert E. Kallos, and Acting Deputy Special Prosecutor and Officer-in-Charge Wendell E. Barreras-Sullt, and approved by Tanodbayan Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez. On the part of the defense, the same was signed by accused Major General Carlos F. Garcia, assisted by his counsel, Atty. Constantino B. de Jesus.

It provided in substance that accused Major General Garcia shall withdraw his plea of "Not Guilty" which he entered in Criminal Case No. 28107 for Plunder, and shall enter a plea of guilty to the lesser offense of Indirect Bribery under Article 211, paragraph 1, of the Revised Penal Code, which offense is necessarily included in Plunder, with admission of the facts constituting the lesser offense. He shall likewise withdraw his negative plea which he entered in SB-09-CRM- 0194, and shall enter a plea of guilty to the lesser offense of Facilitating Money Laundering under Section 4 (b) of R.A. No. 9160,

I

which is necessarily included in the offense charged under the

information for Money Laundering.

With the quiltv plea in both criminal cases, accused Gen. Garcia, by way of restitution/penalty, shall transfer, convey, cede, surrender,

2 G.R. Nos. 163972-77, March 28, 2008 3 G.R. No. 99287,210 SCRA 246

4 172 Phil. 728, 729 .

5 G.R. No. L-47462, February 28, 1980, 96 SCRA 373, 377

and relin9uish in favor 9f \h~ ~tp~Dlic of the rhillPplne~ hl~ ownership, and whatever rights or interests he has over the real and personal properties and bank deposits alleged in the Informations in Criminal Case No. 28107 and SB-09-CRM-0194, in relation to the u.S.

f~for

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Extradition proceedings, U.S. Forfeiture Case No. 04 MAG 2064, and Sandiganbayan Civil Cases Nos. 0193 and 0196 for Forfeiture pending before the Fourth Division of this Court.

Such properties included in the Plea Bargaining Agreement are itemized below, with the corresponding valuation, namely:

Real Properties

In the Province of Iloilo:

TCT 178262 (Ian Carl, Juan Paulo, Timothy Mark) ----p9,682.850.00 TCT 1 7061 1 (Ian Carl)---------------------------P 591,360.00

TCT 170410 (Carlos m/to Clarita)----------------- P 199,500.00 TCT 1 95789 (I an Carl)--------------------------- P 456,61 0. ° °

TOT AL------------------------------ P 10,699,320.00

In Guimaras:

TCT 177677 (Clarita Garcia rn/to Carlos)---:.----------P 65,372.80 TCT 14563 (Clarita Garcia rn/to Carlos)---------------P1 00,000.00 TOTAL ----------------------------'--- P 1 65,372.80

In Batanqas:

TCT 91252 iUuan Paulo)---------------------------P3,081 ,250.00 TCT .,91 251 IU uan Paulo)---------------------------P3 ,081 ,250.00 TCT 91618 (Timothy Mark)------------------------P1 ,442,327.73

TOT AL -----------------------------~ P 7,604,827.73

In Baqulo

TCT 72565 (Ian Carl, Juan Paulo, Timothy M~rk)------P1 ,400,000.00 TCT 72208 (Carlos Garcia) (house & lot)-------------P1 ,400,000.00 TOTAL ------------------------------ P2 ,800,000.00

=tn New York, USA

Trump Park Avenue Condominium (Timothy Mark and

Clarita) per US Case No. 04 CV 08918---------$765,000.00

x 56.412 P43,155.180.00 TOTAL ----------------------------~P43, 1 55,180.00

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Personal Properties

1. 2003 Honda CRV with CR No. 7123916 of LTD 110 i 10 ------------------------------------- P9 76,000.00

2. 1993 Toyota Previa with Plate No. UDS 195 with

Chassis No. JT3AC12R8P1117038 -..:-----------P521 ,797.00

3. 1997 Mitsubishi L300 Van Plate No., FDZ 582, CR No.3 663 709 7 -----------------------------P424, 5 83 .00

4. 1997 Honda Civic Plate No. FEC .1 34 with Chassis No. phso-t 3b9946, CR No. 40076155 of LTO

110 i 10 ------------------------------------- P 564,000.00

5. 2001 Toyota RAV 4 with CR No. 61545497 -----P1 ,365,000.00

6. 1995 Toyota Coaster Bus with Plate No. CSK 605--P375,000.00

7. 1995 Isuzu Elf with Plate No. CNY 179 with CR

No. 54301814 of LTO Angeles City -------------P1 90,000.00

TOTAL ---------.--------------------- P4,4 1 6,380.00

Shares of Stock in IjT Caregiver, Inc.

I an ·Carl ---------------------------------------- 1 0,000 s·h are s Juan Pau I o -------------------------------------- 1 0,000 5 hare s

Shares of Stock in UT Katamnan Corp.

I an Carl ----------------------------------------- 3,000 sh are s

Cash and Money in Banks (frozen/attached as of 15 October 2004)

. .

Bank of the Philippine Islands USD 53,799.20

Banco de Oro USD 0.69

P50,224.55 P 2,725.10

$~p,

Land Bank of the Phil. Planters Devt. Bank AFPSLAI

USD 674,286.43

P6,641,451.19 P8,721.66

P4, 736,180.31

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$728,066.32 or

. P41 ,071,677.24 at

P56.412 per dollar P11,439,3302.81

TOTAL ----------------------------- P 52,51 0,980.05

Cash in Banks in U.S. Bank Accounts (frozen/attached as of 27 October 2004)

Citibank Account No. 80606060------------------- $201,166.08

(at P56.412 per dollar) P11,348.180.90 Citibank Account No. 500228358----------------- $44,354.86

(at P56.412 per dollar) P2,502,146.36 TOTAL -----------------------------P 1 3,850,327.76

GRAN D TOTAL ----------------------------------------------- P 1 35,433,387.84

In the Plea Bargaining Agreement, accused Gen. Garcia likewise professed to be authorized to transfer, convey, cede, surrender, relinquish in favor of the Republic of the 'Philippines ownership and whatever rights or interests over all of the aforestated real and personal properties and monies, under the name of Clarita Depakakibo Garcia, Juan Paulo D. Garcia, Ian Carl D. Garcia and Timothy Mark D. Garcia, by virtue of the individual Special Powers of Attorney with Transfer and Waiver of Rights which the aforenamed individuals have duly executed and sworn to before duly authorized consuls.

Such authority granted through the Special Power of Attorney executed and sworn to by Clarita D. Garcia on December 1, 2009 at Chicago, Illinois before Consul Roberto T. Bernardo covered the

following properties: id'llJl

{viJt- y" /

Pr

1. TCT No. T-1 70410 covering a 399 square meter lot with its improvements situated at Dumangas, Iloilo;

If

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Real Properties:

2. TCT No. T-14563 covering a 23,558 square meter land with its improvements situated at La Paz, Nueva Valencia, Gulmaras;

3. TCT No. T-177677 covering a 5,000 square meter land situated in Jordan, Province of Guimaras;

4. TCT No. 72208 covering a 1,000 square meter land situated in Baguio;

5. Unit 6A Trump Park Avenue Condominium, 502 Park Avenue, New York

" Personal Properties:

1. 1997 Mitsubishi. L300 Van with Plate No. FDZ 582, with Certificate of Registration No. 36637097 of LTO Iloilo;

2. 1997 Honda Civic with Plate No. FEC 134, with Certificate of Registration No. 40076155 of LTO Iloilo;

3.2001 Toyota RAV 4 with Certificate of Registration No. 61545497

4. Bdnk of the Phili~~in~ 1~I~n~~ IIQilQ t\~~Qynt NQ. 1 07ltjQ~o- 97

5. Bank of the Philippine Islands Iloilo Account No. 9305-8030-

1 5

6. Bank of the Philippine Islands Iloilo Account No.1 074-01 09- 85

7. Bank of the Phlllpplne islands Iloilo Account No.1 089-2037-

96

8. Bank of the Philippine Islands Iloilo Account No. 9305-8031-

86

9. Banco de Oro Iloilo Account No.1 200024212

10. Banco de Oro Iloilo Account No.1 380034246

11. Banco de Oro Iloilo Account No. 1380028513

!I~fhI

12. Land Bank of the Philippine Account No. 0559-0023-48

13. AFPSLAI Account No. 610-0010352947-9

14. AFPSLAI Account No. 610-002001-570-5

15. Citibank, N.A. New York Account No. 80606060

16. Citibank West, FS.B. in the name of UT Access Worldwide Account No. 500228358

It

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Juan Paulo D. Garcia similarly executed a Special Power of Attorney before Consul Roberto T. Bernardo at Chicago, Illinois, also on December 1, 2009, empowering his father, Gen. Carlos Garcia, to perform the same acts cited above, over his properties identified as follows:

Rea! Properties:

1. TCT No. T-1 78262 (with Ian Carl and Timothy Mark) ,

2. TCT No. T-l 95789 (with Ian Carl and Timothy Mark)

3. TCT No. T-72565 (with Ian Carl and Timothy Mark)

4. TCT No. T-91251

5. TCT No. T-91252

Personal Properties:

1. 10,000 shares of stock with UT Caregiver Center, Inc.

2. Bank of the Philippine Islands Iloilo Account No.1 074-01 09- 85

3. Land Bank of the Philippines Account No. 0559-0023-13

4. AFPSLAI Account No. 610-0010464143

5. AFPSLAI Account No. 610-0020012120-4

6. Planters Development Bank Iloilo Account No. 0060900116

In his Special Power of Attorney executed on June 18, 2009 before Vice Consul John G. Reyes at Los Angeles, California, USA, Ian

i!~fo1

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Carl D. Garcia authorized his father, Gen. Carlos Garcia, to perform the same aforementioned acts over his properties as follows:

Real Properties:

1. TCT No. T-1 78262, with Juan Paulo and Timothy Mark

2. TCT No. T-195789, with Juan Paulo and Timothy Mark

3. TCT No .. T-72565, with Juan Paulo and Timothy Mark

4. TCT No. T-170611

.. Personal Properties:

1. 2003 Honda C~V, with Certificate of Registration No. 71239116 of LTO Iloilo City

2. 1995 Toyota Coaster Bus with Plate No. CSK 605

3. 1995 Isuzu Elf with Plate No. CNY 179

4. 10,000 shares of stock with UT Caregiver Center, Inc.

5. 3,000 shares of stock with IJT Katamnan Corporation

6. Bank of the Philippine Islands Iloilo Account No. 1074-0109- 85

7. Land Bank of the Philippines Account No. 0559-0023-21

0, AFr~LAI A~~Qynt No r {] 10-00101011 fj-L

9. AFPSLAI Account No. 610-0020012123-9

On December 1, 2009, Timothy Mark D. Garcia executed his Special Power of Attorney before Consul Zaldy B. Patron in New York, empowering his father, Gen. Garcia, to perform the same acts over his properties itemized as follows:

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Real Properties:

1. TCT No. T-178262, with Ian Carl and juan Paulo

2. TCT No. T-195789, with Ian Carl and juan Paulo

3. TCT No. T-72565, with Ian Carl and juan Paulo

4. TCT No. T-91618

5. Unit 6A Trump Park Avenue Condominium, 502 Park Avenue, New York, New York

Personal Properties:

1. Bank of the Philippine Islands Iloilo Account No. 1074-0109-

85

2. Land Bank of the Philippines Account No. 0559-0023-30

3. AFPSLAI Account No. 610-0010484464-5

4. AFPSLAI Account No. 610-0020014757-2

5. Citlbank, N.A. New York Account No. 80606060

6. Citibank West, F.S.B. in the name of UT Access Worldwide Account No. 500228358

DISCUSS]ON

Before even evaluating the merits of the terms contained in the Plea Bargaining Agreement, the Court considered the propriety of entering into plea bargaining at the stage of the trial of these cases when the same was submitted to the Court.

Let it be prefatorily stated that change of plea is countenanced under Section 2, Rule 116 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure which provides:

"SEC. 2. Plea of guilty to a lesser offense- At arraignment, the accused, with the consent of the offended party and, the prosecutor, may be allowed by the trial court to plead guilty to a lesser offense, which is necessarily included in /

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the offense' charged. After arraignment but before trial, the accused may still be allowed to plead guilty to said lesser offense after withdrawing his plea of not guilty. No amendment of the complaint or information is necessary.

Under Section 1 (a) of Rule 118 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, plea bargaining is also mandated to be considered during the pre-trial conference.

May plea bargaining be recognized even after pre-trial, as in these cases? The Court resoundingly answers in the affirmative. Through several rulings rendered by the Honorable Supreme Court, change of plea may 'also be allowed after the prosecution has already presented its evidence. It was enunciated in People vs. Mamarion6 and reiterated in Daan vs. Sandiqanbavan', that ordinarily, plea bargaining is made during the pre-trial stage of the proceedings. Sections 1 and 2, Rule 118 of the Rules of Court require plea bargaining to be considered by the . trial court at the pre-trial conference. But it may also be made during the trial proper and even after the prosecution has finished presenting its evidence and rested its case. Thus, it is immaterial that said plea was not made during the pre-trial stage or that it was made only after the prosecution already presented several witnesses. (Emphasis supplied)

Both cases in turn cited People vs. viitarama' where the High Court elucidated the following:

"Plea bargaining in criminal cases is a process whereby the accused and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usuallv involves the defendant's pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that for the graver charge. Ordinarily, plea bargaining is made during the pre-trial

stage of the criminal proceedings. However, the law still .

r ~fo,

6 G.R. No. 137554, October 1,2003 .. 412 SCRA 438 7 Supra

8 G.R. No. 99287,210 SCRA 246

permits the accused sufficient opportunity to change his plea thereafter. xxx xxx xxx

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It was further elaborated in the villarama case that after the prosecution has rested its case, a change' of plea to a lesser offense may be granted, after the fiscal has submitted his comments, only if there is no sufficientevidence to establish guilt for the crime charged.

After assessing the totality of the testimonial and documentary evidence presented by the prosecution, the Court has found the same to be weak in order to support the allegations contained in the equally weak Information for Plunder. The testimonies of the prosecution witnesses have already been exhaustively detailed in this Court's Resolution denying the Motion for Intervention of the Office of the Solicitor General, and an analytical evaluation of the Audit Report (Exhibit "K4") and the statements of Clarita Garcia, on which the prosecution's cause is anchored, have passed careful scrutiny, so much so that the same need not be repeated herein.

Suffice it to say that the evidence presented by the prosecution is not enough to convict accused General, Garcia of Plunder, again as so comprehensively discussed in this Court's Resolution on the OSG Intervention. It is well-settled that conviction must rest upon the strength of the evidence of the prosecution and not on the weakness of the evidence for the defense."

comments by the prosecution is deemed more than satisfied, as evidenced by the Joint Motion for Approval of Plea Bargaining Agreement. As heretofore mentioned, the Plea Bargaining Agreement was signed, on the prosecution's side by Assistant Special Prosecutor II joseph F. Capistrano, Assistant Spedal Prosecutor III jose M. Balmeo,

Jr., Acting Deputy Special Prosecutor jesus A. Micael, Deputy specia1~

9 Cabugao vs. People, G.R. No. 158033, July 3°'12004, '435 SCRA 624, citing' People vs., hJJ/},J

Tan, 323 SeRA 30 ~ ~

, 1 ' 6

the same was signed by accused Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia, assisted by his counsel, Atty. Constantino B. de Jesus.

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Prosecutor Robert E. Kallos, and Acting Deputy Special Prosecutor and Officer-in-Charge Wendell E. Barreras-Sulit, and approved by Tanodbayan Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez. On the part of the defense,

On the matter of whether or not the Plea Bargaining Agreement was the result of illegal or immoral suasion, the Court finds that the change of plea was offered by the accused with voluntariness and

complete comprehension of its consequences, as he was capably advised by his counsel. There is also reason for the Court to believe that the accused was apprised of all the consequences of his act, and that the same was arrived at after discussion and mature deliberation, as indicated by the signatures on the Plea Bargaining Agreement.

The propriety of the Plea Bargaining Agreement having been settled, the Court proceeded to analyze the offer of restitution of accused General Garcia, and thereafter came to the considered view that as a manifestation of the genuine intent of accused Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia to cede and surrender to the Republic of the Philippines all his interest and ownership, as well as those of his coaccused spouse and three children, over their properties, both real and personal, which are the subject of the cases for Plunder and for Violatlen of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and for the primordial protection of the interest of the Government, the actual cession or transfer of ownership in favor of the Republic of the Philippines of the real and personal properties itemized therein should first be effected, before the Plea Bargaining Agreement may be approved.

Thus, in the Resolution promulgated on May 4, 20101°, the

'. Court ordered accused Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia to execute immediately the appropriate deeds of conveyance in order to transfer convey, cede, surrender; and relinquish to the Republic of the Philippines. his ownership and any and all interests which he may

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personally have over the real properties in his own name, and in the names of spouse Clarita Depakakibo Garcia, children Ian Carl D. Garcia, Juan Paulo D. Garcia, and Timothy Mark D. Garcia, as well as all the personal properties itemized and identified in the inventory of properties in the Plea Bargaining Agreement belonging to him, his spouse and three children, and thereafter to present to the Court such resultant titles and certlflcates of ownership in the name of the Republic of the Philippines.

As reflected in the Manifestation of Substantial Compliance" filed by the prosecution on November 22, 2010, eleven titles were already issued in the name of the Republic of the Philippines. Upon scrutiny of the real properties enumerated in the Plea Bargaining Agreement, the Court observed that those included in the enumeration of real properties of co-accused Clarita Garcia, Ian Carl Garcia, Juan Paolo Garcia and Timothy Mark Garcia, which at first glance looked like' more than eleven, were not actually their own separate properties but were owned in common with one another, and in reality totalled only eleven parcels.

Such eleven titles, photocopies of which were attached to the Manifestation as Annexes "A" to "K", include the following:

1. TCT No. 090-20.10009090 of the Registry of Deeds for Iloilo transferred from TCT No. T-1 7041.0, covering a parcel of land at Dumangas, Iloilo containing 399 square meters;

2. TCT No. 090-2010009092 of the Registry of Deeds for Iloilo transferred from TCT No. T-195789, covering a parcel of land at Dumangas, llollo containing 13,322 square meters;

3. TCT No. 090-2010009088 of the Registry of Deeds for Iloilo transferred from TCT No. T-170611, covering a parcel of land

at Dumangas, Iloilo contalninq 1,344 square meters;

4. TCT No. 090-2010009089 oflthe Registry of Deeds for Iloilo

Y~

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5. TCT No. 090-2010009091 of the Registry of Deeds for Iloilo transferred from TCJ No. T-1A563, covering a parcel of land at Dumangas, Iloilo containing 23,588 square meters;

6. TCT No. 090-2010009093 of the Registry of Deeds for Iloilo transferred from TCT No. T-177677, covering a parcel or land at Gulrnaras containing 5,000 square meters;

7. TCT No. 018-2010002179 of the Registry of Deeds for Baguio City transferred from TCT No. T-72565 covering a parcel of land in Baguio City containing 1,000 square meters;

8. TCT No. 018-20100021 78 of the Registry of Deeds for Baguio City transferred from TCT No. T-72208, covering a parcel of land in Baguio City containing 1,000 square meters;

9. TCT No. T-142955 of the Registry of Deeds for Tanauan Branch transferred from TCT No. T-9121 5, covering a parcel of land at Laurel, Batangas containing 500 square meters;

10. TCT No. T-142956 of the Registry of Deeds for Tanauan Branch transferred from TCT No. T-91252, covering a parcel of land at Laurel, Batangas containing 500 square meters; and

11. TCT No. T-142057 of the Registry of Deeds for Tanauan Branch transferred from TCT No, 91618, covering a parcel of land at 5to. Tomas, Batangascontaining 165 square meters.

,.(side from the eforernentloned r~~' ~r9~~nit~1 the funo~ consisting of bank deposits and their accrued interests, maintained at Banco' de Oro, Planters Development Bank", Bank of the Philippine

, .

Islands", Land Bank and AFPSLAP4 were readv for release, as indicated in the Manifestations' submitted to the Court by the said financial

institutions. In fact, the Court, through its Amended Resolution dated

. .

December 7, 201015, had ordered the Bank of the Philippine Islands,

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Planters Development Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Banco de Oro and Armed Forces of the Philippines Savings and Loan Association to issue Manager's Checks payable to the OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN covering the transfer to the Republic of the Philippines of the corresponding accounts and monies, including any and all accrued interests earned by them, which are with the said banks and financial institutions.

Thus, on December 21, 2010, the AFPSLAI turned over the amount of P1 0,017,225.32 by way of UCPB Manager's Check No. AUB 0000000630 dated December 20, 2010 for the said amount in the name of the Office of the Ombudsman, for which the latter office issued Official Receipt No. 3482456 U on December 21, 2010 to payor AFPSLAI.

Land Bank of the Philippines likewise turned over two Manager's Checks and five Dollar Drafts all dated December 22, 2010 in the

. ,

name of the Office of the Ombudsman, itemized as follows:

1. MC No. 0000006338 for P1,740,442.44 issued by Camp Aguinaldo Branch, and received under Official Receipt No. 3482460;

2. MC No. 0000011132 for P5,570,458.65 issued by Greenhills Branch, and received under Official Receipt No. 3482461 ;

3. Dollar Draft No. 006954 for $7,081.07 from the closed Dollar Savings Account No. 0554-0017-00 of Carlos F. Garcia, and received under Official Receipt No. 3482462;

4. Dollar Draft No. 006955 for $145,830.58 from the closed Time Deposit Account No. 0559-0023-48 of Carlos F. Garcia or Clarita Garcia, and received under Official Receipt No. 3482463;

5. Dollar Draft No. 006956 for $58,550.47 from the closed Time Deposit Account No. 0559-0023-13 of Juan Paolo

.. '

Garcia or Carlos F. Garcia, and received under Official Receipt No. 3482464;"frIV k/

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6. Dollar Draft No. 006958 for $227.,229.97 from the closed Time Deposit Account No. 0559-0023-21 of Ian Carl Garcia or Carlos F. Garcia, and received under Official Receipt No. 3482465;

7. Dollar Draft No. 006959 for $220,391.25 from the closed Time Deposit Account No. 0559-0023-30 of Timothy Mark Garcia or Carlos F. Garcia, and received under Official Receipt No. 3482466.

On December 29, 2010, the Bank of the Philippine Islands likewise filed a Notice of Compliance with the Resolutions of this Court dated November 23, 2010, December 7 anod 9, 2010, as evidenced by the following Manager's Checks issued in the name of the Office of the Ombudsman which were officially received, to wit:

l. MC No. 372215295 dated December 28, 2010 for
USD22,159.40, ° received under Official Receipt No.
3482484;
2. MC No. 372215294 dated December 28, 2010 for
USD34,065.76, received under Official Receipt No.
3482483; 3. MC No. 70032 dated December 28, 2010 for P10,686.50, received under Official Receipt No. 3482482;

4. o· MC No. 70031 dated December 28, 2010 for P34,843.98, received under Official Receipt No. 3482481; and

5. MC No. 70030 dated December 28, 2010 for P5,969.76, received under Official Receipt No. 3482480.

Deeds of Conveyance were likewise executed to cover the transfer of the subject vehicles to the (Republic. In a letter to the Court dated December 16, 2010, Regional Director Gerard M. Carnlfia of the Land Transportation Office VI at jaro, Iloilo City enclosed original copies of the Certificates of Reqlstration and Official Receipts of the

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motor vehicles already transferred in the name of the Republic of the Philippines. Thosevehicles include the following: 1) Toyota RAV 4 (FE- 498); 2) Mitsubishi L-300 (FDZ~582)' 3) Honda Civic (FEC-1 34); and 4) Honda CRY (FEH-275).

With respect to the US properties, the prosecution manifested that it has been assured by the US Department of Finance that the US Government will forfeit the Trump Park Condominium as well as the two US Bank accounts which are currently under restraint in the United States, and the Republic of the Philippines shall be entitled to an assets sharing program under the terms of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the US and the Philippines. Both the Trump Park Condominium and the Bank Deposits are covered by Deeds of Conveyance.

It therefore appears from the foregoing that the transfer in the name of the Republic of the Philippines of the assets and properties of accused Maj. Gen. Garcia subject of the PI~a Bargaining Agreement, in the total amount of P135,433,387.84, had already been accomplished.

We now dwellon the change of plea in Criminal Case No. 28107 for Plunder and the offer of a guilty plea to the lesser offense of Indirect Bribery. Considering that Indirect Bribery under Article 211 of the Revised Penal Code consists of receiving gifts in consideration of the office of a public officer, and with the further consideration that the position of accused Cen, Garcia as Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership, from which he purportedly received gifts, was not even alleged in the Information for Plunder, the Court, in the exercise of its sound discretion, allowed the guilty plea to the lesser offense of Direct Bribery under Article. 210, paragraph 3 of the Revised Penal Code which reads:

"If the object for which! the gift was received or promised was to make the public officer refrain from doing something which it was his. official duty to do, he shall suffer the penalties of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period

W

{/' ~

/resolution

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/np. vs. garcia, et.at., .

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and a fine of not less than three times the value of such gift. "

After all, Direct Bribery is undoubtedly a predicate offense of Plunder. Moreover, the receiving of gifts, commissions, percentages, etc. was allegedly to make the accused refrain from doing something which it was his official duty to do.

In Plunder, the public officer, by himself or in connivance with .. members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity,· business

. .

associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses or acquires ill-

gotten wealth through several means, among which is by receiving directly or indirectly any commission, gift, share, percentage, kickbacks or any other form of pecuniary benefit from any person and/or entity in connection with anvqovernrnent contract or project by reason of the office or position of the public officer concerned." This is precisely also the offense punished in Direct Bribery. Hence,

. .

the latter offense, to which the accused pleaded guilty, is necessarily

included in the offense of Plunder.

On the other hand, with respect to the change of a negative plea in SB-09-CRM-0 194 for Anti Money La:undering under Section 4 (a) of R.A. No. 9160 to the lesser offense of Facilitating Money Laundering under Section 4 (b) of the same law, the latter offense is necessarily included in the first, as will be seen in the following quoted provisions:

"SECTION 4. Money Laundering Offense.- Money laundering is a crime whereby the proceeds of an unlawful activity as herein defined are transacted, thereby making them appear to have originated from legitimate sources. It is committed by the following:

(a)

Any person knowing that any monetary instrument or property represents, involves, or relates to, the proceeds of any unlawful activity, transacts or attempts to transact said monetary instrument or property.

§fuI

16 Paragraph 4 (ii) of R.A. No. 7160

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(b) Any person knowing that any monetary instrument or property involves the proceeds of anv unlawful activity, performs or fails to perform any act as a result of which he facilitates the offense of money laundering referred to in paragraph (a) above.

(c) xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

Pursuant to the foregoing premises, accused General Garcia was re-arraigned on December 16, 2010 and pleaded Guilty to the lesser offenses of Direct Bribery and Violation of Section 4 (b) of R.A. No. 9160.17

Inasmuch as the provisions of the Plea Bargaining Agreement and the concerns of this Court about the protection of the Government have been already fully addressed, there is no reason why this Court should withhold approval of the Plea Bargaining Agreement in these cases.

To add further justification to its position to approve the Plea Bargaining Agreement, the Court reiterates its earlier statement that with the deficient evidence advanced by the prosecution, the conviction of accused General Garcia for Plunder stands on questionable and shaky ground, notwithstanding the denial of his petition for bail, which matter was even a debatable issue with the Court, and the Resolution thereon is still the subject of a Motion for Reconsideration submitted by the accused.

It would not be superfluous to repeat, but only to stress a point, as this was likewise already mentioned in the Resolution denying the Motion for Intervention of the Office of the Solicitor General, that the resolution to deny the Petition for Bail of accused Gen. Garcia was not reached by a unanimous vote. It was a divided Second Division, for which reason a Special Division of Fi~e was created where the voting was close. In exercising its sound discretion on the grant of bail, the

~

"Record, Volume 10, pages 7411 and 7412 j)4I{

...

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Court considered as strong evidence, but not proof beyond reasonable doubt, the bulk of the evidence presented so far by the prosecution which principally related to the numerous properties and motor vehicles owned by the accused and his family, both in the country and abroad; the seizure of the amount of $100,000.00 from Juan Paolo Garcia and Ian Carl Garcia, sons of the accused, upon entry to the United States of America on December 19, 2003; the sworn and handwritten statements given by Clarita D. Garcia to Agent Matthew Van Dyke on the sources of her family's income and gratuities; and the disposition of certain funds of the Armed Forces of the Philippines received from the United Nations. Differences of opinion arose regarding the admissibility of Clarita Garcia's statement, principally because it was not duly authenticated, and doubts on the applicability of the privileged marital communication surfaced.

Moreover, as indicated in the Separate Concurring Opinion of Associate Justice Samuel R. Martlres," another factor to be considered in resolving the issue of bail was the risk of flight of the accused, so much so that even if the capital offense ls bailable owing to the weakness of the evidence of guilt, the right to bail may justifiably still be denied if the possibility of escape is qreat."

Thus, notwithstanding the Internal objections to the grant of bail, the Court, in a 3-2 vote, resolved to consider the evidence of guilt as stronqfrorn the pieces of evidence so far presented. In passing upon the merit of the Plea Bargaining Agreement, the Court therefore had to contend with the reality that even with the denial of bail to the accused, there could not have been a categorical statement that the evidence presented by the prosecution indeed constituted proof beyond reasonable doubt to convict the accused, and additional evidence presented did not improve the situation either.

Finally, on the question of whether or not the consent of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the ·Plea Bargaining Agreement

h1

18 Record, Volume 9, page 6936,

19 Citing People vs. Baldoz, G.R. No. 140032, November 20,2001,369 SCRA 690, 708

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should have been obtained, the Court makes reference to the exhaustive discussion on this matter in the Court's Resolution denying the OSG's Intervention. Suffice it to add that it has always been the Office of the Ombudsman that has actively prosecuted these cases, both in the criminal. and civil aspects, since the inception of the trial. Furthermore, the blatant allegations in the Information fail to indicate that the amount mentioned therein was purportedly taken from the AFP, as in fact none from the said agency was listed therein as a witness.

. Likewise, since the sources of the amounts deposited by the accused and his family in banks and other financial institutions have not been attributed to belong to the AFP, and the amount of P200 Million withdrawn from Land Bank Greenhills Branch and transferred to UCPB was fully accounted for, the active participation of the Office of the Ombudsman representing the People of the Philippines and needless to say, the Republic of the Philippines, amply covered that angle.

CONCLUSION

In fine, the Court finds that all the preconditions imposed by it on the accused by virtue of its Resolution of May 4, 2010, specifically with regard to the transfer of his real and personal properties found in the Philippines, have already been complied with, as in fact such real and personal properties are now in the name of the Republic of the' Philippines. With respect to the Trump Condominium and the US bank deposits, the Court orders their transfer to the Government of the Philippines, pursuant to the provisions of the "Treaty Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of

. ,. the Republic of the Philippines on MUltual Legal Assistance in Criminal

Matters" entered into by both qovernments on November 13, 1 r~

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i

Furthermore" with the re-arr~ignrnent of the acc.usedon

December 16, 2010 wherein he pleaded Guilty to the lesser offenses of Direct BriberyanclViOlation of Section 4 (b)ofRJt No. 9160, all the provisions of the P[eaBargaining Agre~mententered,lntobetween.hlm

. I

I

and. the orosecunen haveal ready beenj fullycovereO.

WHEREFORE,in.view of all t~eforegoihg,~his COQrt:hereby

_-_ ..' :-: .- -,', - , I '_ :._ , ,,' _ _ ,',--= '-,,' ,_, _ ,'_' :

APPROVESthe Plefl;Bargaining Agreement hetweenthe Office of the

j

.' Ombudsman and M:ajorGeneral Carlos F .. Garcia~

SOORDEREP.

Quezon City,PhHippines .

. ?~ ft: ~';'c~kJ tE:R:E~ITA v. DI~Z~,BA.~D9S'

.,. ,," '. Associate J4stice . .

WE CONCUR:

IIW&.·{.·.~.~ .•••. N ..•• D.· .•• · •... l

Chairman'i··" __ -/' ...

*

Asso:ciate justice

lI$ittingas Special Memberas perAdm. Order No. 1115-2010 dated June 25;2010

I

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