Friday, October 22, 2004
Gov't freezes Garcia's P52M in banks
A LITTLE slow on the draw, the government ended freezing a mere P52 million in the known bank accounts of Major Gen. Carlos Garcia and his family.
Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo made the announcement about the freeze Thursday, clarifying reports that the former Armed Forces comptroller has closed all his accounts before the Court of Appeals issued the freeze order on the bank deposits of the Garcia family last week.
A document released by Benipayo to the media showed that as of October 15, 2004, a total of P52,510,980 of the accounts of the Garcia family in five institutions were frozen.
"The report that General Garcia managed to close all his bank accounts before the freeze order came out is wrong. This document proves it," he said.
Benipayo said the document, entitled "Summary of Amounts Frozen", was furnished to his office by the appellate court.
The document, however, did not provide the specific identity of the banks or financial institutions where Garcia's accounts were frozen.
"It would be imprudent for us to disclose such information," Benipayo explained.
The summary of frozen accounts merely designated the covered institutions as "A,B,C, D, and E." Under the "A" column, indicates $53,779.20 and P50,224.56 as amounts frozen.
In "B", it was $0.69 and P2,725; in "C", $674,286.43 and P6,661,451.19; in "D" P8,721.66; and P4,736,180.31 in "E". The dollar accounts frozen totals $728,066.32 while the peso accounts summed up to P11,439,302.81.
At a conversion rate of P56.412 per dollar, the amounts frozen totals to P52,510,980.05.
Benipayo said the P52 million is "small". "There should be more," he said.
Garcia's wife Clarita and her three sons have six separate accounts at Planters, all of them in foreign currency.
The Garcias have also at least three real estate properties in the United States, one at 222 East 34th Street, Apt. 2202 in New York, valued at $750,000 a unit at Trump Park Avenue Condominium, 502 Park Avenue, also in New York, valued at $765,000 and another property at 625 Vancouver Drive, Westerville, Ohio.
Meanwhile, Press Secretary and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye reiterated its commitment to track down all papers trail and pieces of evidence to eventually build an airtight case against Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.
Bunye said no one should doubt the political will of the Arroyo administration in cleaning up the government of grafters.
"There is no such thing as a perfect crime in these matters and the paper trail will be meticulously investigated. Nobody should even doubt the political will of the administration to bring grafters to justice and to redeem what has been stolen from the public coffers," he said. (Benjamin B. Pulta/JMR)
(October 22, 2004 issue)
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