PLEA BARGAIN ‘DONE DEAL’ SINCE MAY LAST YEAR — CADIZ
Solgen moots sinister aim in Sandigan ruling
By Benjamin B. Pulta 05/12/2011Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz imputed sinister motives in the recent decision of the Sandiganbayan to uphold the plea bargaining agreement entered into between the Office of the Ombudsman and former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and in denying the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG’s) bid to intervene in the case for the government as Cadiz floated a theory that the agreement was a “done deal” early as May last year —before President Aquino won the election — and that the recent ruling was just “a formality.”
“My thesis is the Sandiganbayan approved the deal on May 4 last year when President Aquino was leading mightily in the surveys. The Sandiganbayan only wanted Gen. Garcia to comply with some conditions, or to transfer your assets to the government. So when he complied, the court just came up with a resolution formalizing the deal,” he explained.
Cadiz said the OSG will insist on its legal standing to intervene in the plea-bargaining agreement between the Ombudsman and before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110512hed1.html