The Sandiganbayan ordered retired Major General Carlos Garcia to pay a fine worth P406.3 million for the corruption scandal that blew up in 2010.
In a resolution promulgated by the Sandiganbayan on July 30, it stated that the Court found Garcia guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Direct Bribery under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code and for the violation of Section 4(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Aside from his time served in prison, he was also ordered to pay a fine three times the total value of the gifts he received. The fine was imposed as per the Plea-Bargaining Agreement.
Garcia’s past involvement with money laundering and accepting monetary gifts for retiring generals resulted in his conviction.
On July 2, General Gregorio Catapang Jr. sent a letter to the court stating that Garcia was released from the custody of the Bureau of Corrections in August 2023. He wrote that the latter had completed his sentence with Credit Preventive Imprisonment (CPI) of four years, 5 months, and seven days, including a Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) of 3,288 days.
Garcia argued that the large sum of his fine was “flagrantly and plainly oppressive, and unconstitutional” as there was no evidence that P135,000,000 was the value of the “gifts” he illegally received.
“Garcia’s unsubstantiated allegations of insolvency cannot justify an exception to the doctrine of immutability of judgments, nor can it be used to stay the execution of this court's decision. A supervening event cannot rest on unproved or uncertain facts. As discussed above, the determination of whether or not the accused has properties to settle the fine imposed must be done through the execution of the judgment and the report of the sheriff," the Sandiganbayan rebutted.
