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MANILA, Philippines?Now that they know where to find them, state prosecutors said they will ask for the extradition of the two sons of former military comptroller Major General Carlos Garcia who were arrested in the United States two days ago.
"This is a welcome development. We now have information about the whereabouts of the two," said Deputy Special Prosecutor Jesus Micael.
Garcia, his wife and sons are facing plunder charges for allegedly amassing more than P303 million in unexplained wealth. Following the filing of plunder charges and Garcia?s arrest in 2005, the court ordered the arrest of the wife and sons in 2006. But they could not be found.
Last Wednesday, however, Garcia's two sons, Juan Paulo and Ian Carl, were arrested in the US. The two were indicted last December by a federal grand jury in San Francisco and charged with conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling, failing to file a report on the import of monetary instruments and making a false statement to a government agency.
Both will be held in San Francisco to answer to the charges, US authorities said.
The sons were caught in a US airport in 2003 after they allegedly tried to bring in some $100,000 from Manila to San Francisco without proper documents.
This is the same incident that led to the discovery of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the former military general who has expensive properties both in the Philippines and in the US.
Micael said the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which prosecutes the plunder and other cases against the Garcia family before the Sandiganbayan, shall make the "proper representation for the extradition (of the two)."
The usual process is for the Department of Justice to coordinate with its US counterpart for the extradition.
Sought for comment, prosecutor Jose Balmeo Jr. said: "We can make representations with the US government so we can bring the two here so they can face the charges filed against them."
Juan Paulo and Ian Carl face plunder charges along with their parents, but they have been at large since the case was filed in 2005.
The court issued arrest warrants against the two, but when these were served in the family's given addresses in Camp Aguinaldo and in Iloilo, they "could not be found."
"The houses were already abandoned. Nobody was there," Balmeo, one of the prosecutors handling the plunder case against the Garcia family, recalled.
Balmeo said he received information about the arrest of Garcia's sons on Thursday afternoon through an email from the US Department of Justice.
The email advised him of the arrest and referred him to a website where a press release about the arrest had been posted on February 25.
The press release of the US justice department said the Garcias were arrested "following an indictment by a federal grand jury in San Francisco" issued in December, charging Juan Paulo and Ian Carl with "one count of conspiracy to commit cash smuggling and one count of bulk cash smuggling."
Juan Paulo was also charged with "one count of failing to file a report on the import of monetary instruments and one count of making a false statement to a government agency."
Juan Paulo was arrested in Pontiac while Ian Carl was arrested in Las Vegas. They will be held in San Francisco to answer the charges.
They face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if they are found guilty, with a possible additional 10 years in prison for Juan Paulo if he is convicted of failing to declare the money.
The press release added that an "indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, the Garcias must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."
Balmeo said the plunder case against the Garcias is still pending before the Sandiganbayan. The prosecution is wrapping up the presentation of its witnesses after already presenting some 30 witnesses so far.
In an earlier statement, the Office of the Special Prosecutor under the Office of the Ombudsman, the agency tasked to probe and prosecute cases against government officials, said that Garcia and his family were charged with plunder for amassing "ill-gotten wealth in the amount of P303,272,005.99 through a series of combination of overt or criminal acts on similar schemes or means by receiving commissions, gifts, shares, etc. in connection with government projects or by reason of the public and/or by taking advantage of his (Garcia) official position."
