A minor setback, Ombudsman says of SC ruling in Garcia case Edson C. Tandoc Jr. Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 04, 2009
MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court decision halting the forfeiture cases against the wife and sons of former military comptroller, retired Gen. Carlos Garcia, was just “a minor setback” and would not affect the plunder trial against the family accused of amassing some P300 million in ill-gotten wealth, the Office of the Ombudsman said.
Sought for comment, Deputy Special Prosecutor Jesus Micael said on Monday the prosecution would still pursue the forfeiture cases and that the high court’s decision had “no effect” on the plunder case.
The high court last week stopped the Sandiganbayan from proceeding with the forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth cases against Garcia’s wife Clarita Depakakibo, 58, and their sons Juan Pablo, 27; Timothy Mark, 26; and Ian Karl, 20, due to improper service of summonses.
The summonses were served on Garcia instead of on his wife and children, the high court said.
The Garcias also face plunder charges, aside from the two forfeiture cases.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Micael said the summons could still be reissued for the court to acquire jurisdiction over Clarita and the sons. The government has formally asked for their extradition from the United States.
Garcia is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame while Clarita and their three sons, all US citizens, were arrested in different states this year.
Clarita and the sons remain out of prison, reportedly after each posted $1-million bail.
Reacting to the high court decision, Garcia told the Inquirer after a hearing at the Sandiganbayan Tuesday that his wife and sons should not have been charged to begin with.
“It was unfair for my children to be charged,” he said.
He lamented that the Ombudsman accused him of amassing some P300 million in ill-gotten wealth since 1993, then included his family in the charge.
Garcia said his sons were still very young at the time. The youngest, Timothy Mark, now the publicist for designer Marc Jacobs, was only 8 then.
“How can they charge an 8-year-old as a conduit?” he said.
He denied that his wife and sons went into hiding in the US. “They were working there. They were using their real names because they knew they did nothing wrong.”
Garcia said he had not spoken with his wife or sons since 2003.
