The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the forfeiture circumstances towards former army comptroller Carlos Garcia following the implementation of the plea bargaining settlement.
The three justices comprising the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division granted the Office of the Ombudsman’s movement to withdraw the 2 civil circumstances towards Garcia, a retired main basic of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and his household, on December 7, 2022.
In its movement, the anti-graft workplace mentioned that “substantially all” of the properties sought to be forfeited in these circumstances have already been recovered beneath the plea bargaining settlement and that it doesn’t have sufficient proof to help the forfeiture of the remaining properties listed within the petitions.
Last September, the Ombudsman turned over P53.6 million and 11 actual property properties to the National Treasury.
“Hence, it is withdrawing these cases to prevent further waste of the Court’s time, effort, and resources,” the decision learn.
“As with the plea bargaining agreement, the withdrawal of these petitions rests with the Ombudsman,” it added.
In July 2022, the Sandiganbayan discovered Garcia responsible of direct bribery and facilitating cash laundering, sentencing him to 4 to eight years of imprisonment.
Garcia pleaded responsible to the lesser offense of direct bribery and facilitating cash laundering as a substitute of plunder and cash laundering for amassing P303.2 million price of ill-gotten wealth whereas he was within the army. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
