Ombudsman: No money involved in Garcia plea deal
(Updated 6:47 p.m.) Ombudsman Merceditas Guitterez faced a congressional investigation Tuesday to dismiss speculations that money changed hands in the plea bargaining agreement entered into by her office and alleged plunderer Carlos Garcia, a former military comptroller.
"We want the public to know na walang kalokohan sa plea bargaining na ito (that there's nothing illegal in this plea bargaining agreement)," Gutierrez told members of the justice committee of the House of Representatives.
"Nakakalungkot dahil ginagawa lang namin ang aming tungkulin (We're saddened by the insinuations because we're just doing our jobs)," she added.
Guitterez likewise said that no powerful official “fixed" the plea bargain deal for Garcia.
“Wala pong ayusin rito. Wala pong perahan dito. Kung may kumita rito, tamaan na ng kidlat at mamatay na ngayon din (Nobody earned money from this. If there is, may lightning hit him or her)," she said.
She said she, upon the recommendations of special prosecutors under her supervision, chose to approve the deal because of "weak" evidence against Garcia, who is accused of amassing more than P300 million in ill-gotten wealth while in active military service.
"There was no evidence to convict Garcia... I acted based on recommendations that there was weak evidence," she said.
She added that the deal was the only way the government could "end up as the winner in the case."
“Kung maa-acquit lang siya (If he’ll just be acquitted) and he can get away with it, we might as we get what we can so we can end up as the winner," said Gutierrez, who has been named respondent in several impeachment complaints filed with the House of Representatives.
Last year, special prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman entered into a plea bargain agreement with Garcia, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of direct bribery and money laundering instead of plunder as part of the deal.
After admitting to these offenses, the ex-military comptroller was allowed to post bail and to temporarily walk out of jail in December last year.
Garcia was also allowed to return only P135 million out of the P303 million he allegedly amassed while still in active service.
The Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG) has asked the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court to allow it to intervene in the controversial deal and to nullify Garcia’s arraignment for direct bribery. – KBK, GMANews.TV
"We want the public to know na walang kalokohan sa plea bargaining na ito (that there's nothing illegal in this plea bargaining agreement)," Gutierrez told members of the justice committee of the House of Representatives.
"Nakakalungkot dahil ginagawa lang namin ang aming tungkulin (We're saddened by the insinuations because we're just doing our jobs)," she added.
Guitterez likewise said that no powerful official “fixed" the plea bargain deal for Garcia.
“Wala pong ayusin rito. Wala pong perahan dito. Kung may kumita rito, tamaan na ng kidlat at mamatay na ngayon din (Nobody earned money from this. If there is, may lightning hit him or her)," she said.
She said she, upon the recommendations of special prosecutors under her supervision, chose to approve the deal because of "weak" evidence against Garcia, who is accused of amassing more than P300 million in ill-gotten wealth while in active military service.
"There was no evidence to convict Garcia... I acted based on recommendations that there was weak evidence," she said.
She added that the deal was the only way the government could "end up as the winner in the case."
“Kung maa-acquit lang siya (If he’ll just be acquitted) and he can get away with it, we might as we get what we can so we can end up as the winner," said Gutierrez, who has been named respondent in several impeachment complaints filed with the House of Representatives.
Last year, special prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman entered into a plea bargain agreement with Garcia, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of direct bribery and money laundering instead of plunder as part of the deal.
After admitting to these offenses, the ex-military comptroller was allowed to post bail and to temporarily walk out of jail in December last year.
Garcia was also allowed to return only P135 million out of the P303 million he allegedly amassed while still in active service.
The Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG) has asked the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court to allow it to intervene in the controversial deal and to nullify Garcia’s arraignment for direct bribery. – KBK, GMANews.TV
We welcome healthy discussions and friendly debate! Please click Flag to alert us of a comment that may be abusive or threatening. Read our full comment policy here.
Comments Powered by Disqus
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
