In a press conference, OMB prosecutors, headed by Special Prosecutor Wendell B. Sulit, said they acted within the limits of the law with the interest of the state foremost in their mind.

They admitted that the prosecution has no strong evidence to convict Garcia, his wife, and three sons for plunder beyond reasonable doubt.

They said that instead of losing the case before the Sandiganbayan, they agreed with Garcia’s initiative to enter into a PBA and made him plead guilty to the lesser offenses of direct bribery and violation of the anti-money laundering law.

They explained that the charge sheet prepared by former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelino and former Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio was insufficient to convict the Garcias as it did not name any vital witnesses to prove the guilt of plunder, unlike in the case of former President Joseph Estrada where there were witnesses led by Ilocos Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson.

They said no Armed Forces contractors and suppliers came forward to testify that they bribed Garcia.

They said even AFP accountants testified that no funds were missing or malversed.

They explained that there was no specific evidence on record showing how the amassing of ill-gotten wealth was done.

The prosecutors said Clarita Garcia’s statement before the US immigration authorities could not hold water in court as it was not only unsworn, but she herself, being an accused, cannot testify against herself or her husband under the rule on marital privilege.

They insisted that with the PBA, the government stands to recover all those identified unlawfully acquired wealth amounting to P135.5 million.

They said Marcelo’s team bloated the plundered amount to more than P303 million.

They said that based on the validation conducted by US authorities, the house in Ohio state was not owned by the Garcia. The New York Trumph Tower apartment with estimated value of $750,000 was under a lease contract and not owned by the Garcias.

“Garcia offered to surrender all his ill-gotten wealth, but we made him turnover even those properties which he insisted were not illegally acquired,” Ms. Sulit said.

On the accusations that other agencies were not informed of the PBA, Ms. Sulit said the Office of the Solicitor General, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and even the US Department of Justice were aware of the PBA, as borne by records.

She appealed to critics to examine the contents of the accord before making wild charges and await the decision of the Sandiganbayan, which has yet to issue a verdict on the case.

Jun Ramirez, Manila Bulletin