Ombudsman turns over to Treasury 11 properties, P53.6 million proceeds of ex-AFP comptroller's forfeited assets

The Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday turned over P53.6 million and 11 real estate properties to the National Treasury in connection with the direct bribery and facilitating money laundering case of retired major general Carlos Garcia.

The real estate properties are in Baguio City, Batangas, Guimaras, and Iloilo.

This is part of the plea bargaining agreement entered by Garcia where he was offered to cede P135.4 million worth of cash, real and personal properties he and his family owned in favor of the government.

Garcia pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering instead of plunder and money laundering for conniving and conspiring with co-accused members of his family and amassing P303.2 million worth of ill-gotten wealth.

Lawyer Rawnsle Lopez, Ombudsman public information and media relations acting director,  said that as of date, a total of P135 million has been remitted by the Ombudsman to the national treasury as forfeited properties of Garcia.

“As of date, a total of P135 million has already been remitted by the Ombudsman to the national treasury as forfeited properties of Garcia,” Lopez said during the press conference.

Lopez said this represented cash, motor vehicles, real estate properties in the Philippines and New York City, and funds from two accounts maintained in New York.

Meanwhile, according to Deputy OmbudsmanJose Balmeo, Garcia's wife and children are not covered by the plea bargaining agreement.

“They were not part of the agreement because they were not arrested. They were outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines and it was only General Garcia who was then charged and was here,” Balmeo said.

“So it was Garcia alone who executed the plea bargaining agreement,” he added.

The Sandiganbayan previously junked the bid of Garcia to recall the warrants for the arrest of his wife Clarita and their children Ian Carl, Juan Paulo, and Timothy Mark.

When asked if this means there is a possibility that there may be more properties recovered, Balmeo said most of the properties have been surrendered.

“With respect to the properties, I think most of the properties have already been surrendered by virtue of the plea bargaining agreement,” he said.—LDF, GMA News