Senator wants special prosecutors in Garcia case to resign
The special prosecutors in the controversial plea bargain deal with former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia should follow in Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez's footsteps and also resign, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Tuesday. "They should resign and if they refuse, then moves must be initiated to have them removed," Pangilinan told reporters in a text message. Garcia is facing a P303-million plunder complaint before the Sandiganbayan. But he walked free after entering into a plea bargain deal with the special prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman. Because of this, Pangilinan said the prosecutors seemed like the defense counsel of Garcia and not state prosecutors. "Hindi na kailangan ni Garcia ng abogado dahil yung mga prosecutor ang nagmukhang abogado niya (Garcia doesn't need lawyers because the prosecutors seem to be lawyering for him)," he said in the same text message. Last March, the Senate blue ribbon committee released a partial report recommending the impeachment of Gutierrez and the dismissal and filing of charges against the state prosecutors who entered into a deal with Garcia. The prosecutors involved in the agreement are: