All are American citizens
By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:52:00 03/07/2009
MANILA, Philippines. Ten days after two sons of former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia were arrested in the United States, US lawmen caught up with Garcia's wife and a third son who had been fugitives for more than three years.
Clarita Depakakibo Garcia, 58, and her son Timothy Mark were arrested Thursday and were scheduled to face a detention hearing Friday, a government official said.
They were arrested on the basis of a request from the Philippine government for them to face plunder charges filed against them in the Philippines, Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni said.
Jalandoni said the government had so far received no official communication from the US government on the arrests.
But we have confirmed that they were arrested in the US, he said.
Garcia, his wife and three sons have been charged with plunder for allegedly amassing more than P303 million in unexplained wealth during Garcia's active service in the military.
Garcia was convicted on perjury charges late last month for misdeclaring his assets in 2000. He is in jail while on trial for plunder.
Clarita and her three sons had been at large since the plunder case was filed in 2005. Unlike the retired general, they are US citizens, US federal officials told the Detroit News.
The Detroit News said the arrest warrants for Clarita and Timothy Mark were made on the basis of an extradition request from the Philippine government for plunder committed in Quezon City between 1993 and 2004.
Quoting a court filing from Assistant US Attorney John O'Brien, the paper said the money and other benefits obtained by the defendants resulted from the award of contracts or other government projects by Maj. Gen. Garcia and taking undue advantage of his official position.
Bulk cash smuggling
On Feb. 25, Garcia's two other sons, Juan Paulo and Ian Carl, were arrested in the US after their indictment in December by a federal grand jury and were charged with conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling after they allegedly tried to smuggle $100,000 in cash from the Philippines in 2003.
They are now being held in San Francisco to answer to the charges, US authorities said.
The airport incident led to the discovery of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Garcia family and the filing of plunder charges before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan in 2005.
Jalandoni said that while Juan Paulo and Ian Carl would have to face the cash smuggling charges in the US, ultimately, the three sons and Clarita will have to be extradited because all of them are defendants in the plunder case.
Following the filing of the plunder charges and Garcia's arrest in 2005, the Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Clarita and her sons in 2006.
But when the arrest warrants were served in the family's given addresses in the military general headquarters Camp Aguinaldo and in the southern province of Iloilo, they could not be found, prosecutor Jose Balmeo Jr. said.
By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:52:00 03/07/2009
MANILA, Philippines. Ten days after two sons of former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia were arrested in the United States, US lawmen caught up with Garcia's wife and a third son who had been fugitives for more than three years.
Clarita Depakakibo Garcia, 58, and her son Timothy Mark were arrested Thursday and were scheduled to face a detention hearing Friday, a government official said.
They were arrested on the basis of a request from the Philippine government for them to face plunder charges filed against them in the Philippines, Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni said.
Jalandoni said the government had so far received no official communication from the US government on the arrests.
But we have confirmed that they were arrested in the US, he said.
Garcia, his wife and three sons have been charged with plunder for allegedly amassing more than P303 million in unexplained wealth during Garcia's active service in the military.
Garcia was convicted on perjury charges late last month for misdeclaring his assets in 2000. He is in jail while on trial for plunder.
Clarita and her three sons had been at large since the plunder case was filed in 2005. Unlike the retired general, they are US citizens, US federal officials told the Detroit News.
The Detroit News said the arrest warrants for Clarita and Timothy Mark were made on the basis of an extradition request from the Philippine government for plunder committed in Quezon City between 1993 and 2004.
Quoting a court filing from Assistant US Attorney John O'Brien, the paper said the money and other benefits obtained by the defendants resulted from the award of contracts or other government projects by Maj. Gen. Garcia and taking undue advantage of his official position.
Bulk cash smuggling
On Feb. 25, Garcia's two other sons, Juan Paulo and Ian Carl, were arrested in the US after their indictment in December by a federal grand jury and were charged with conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling after they allegedly tried to smuggle $100,000 in cash from the Philippines in 2003.
They are now being held in San Francisco to answer to the charges, US authorities said.
The airport incident led to the discovery of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Garcia family and the filing of plunder charges before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan in 2005.
Jalandoni said that while Juan Paulo and Ian Carl would have to face the cash smuggling charges in the US, ultimately, the three sons and Clarita will have to be extradited because all of them are defendants in the plunder case.
Following the filing of the plunder charges and Garcia's arrest in 2005, the Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Clarita and her sons in 2006.
But when the arrest warrants were served in the family's given addresses in the military general headquarters Camp Aguinaldo and in the southern province of Iloilo, they could not be found, prosecutor Jose Balmeo Jr. said.
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