ILOILO CITY - The family of former Armed Forces comptroller retired Major General Carlos F. Garcia have not been arrested despite a nationwide hunt for them after the warrants were issued last week by the Sandiganbayan.

The Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation in Western Visayas said they have not received copies of the warrants issued in connection with the P303-million plunder case filed last year against Garcia and his family.

Senior Supt. Isagani Cuevas, Deputy Regional Director for Operations of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), said that, upon receipt of the warrants, they will arrest Garcia's wife Clarita Depakakibo and their children Ian Carl, 27, Juan Paulo, 24, and Timothy Mark, 22.

NBI regional director Mario Sison also said they have not received copies of the warrants.

But Edgardo Urieta, Sandiganbayan chief sheriff, said the anti-graft court sent copies of the warrants to all concerned law enforcement agencies last week. Garcia has been detained at the PNP general headquarters in Camp Crame since last year after a general court-martial sentenced him to two years of hard labor after he was found guilty of corruption. He was also dishonorably discharged and his benefits, including his pension, were forfeited.

Clarita is from Dumangas town in Iloilo. The Garcias have a house at the Locsin Subdivision in Jaro District here.

But the police are not sure whether the family is still in Iloilo even if the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation had issued a hold-departure order against Clarita and her three sons.

Sison said the last information that they got was that Garcia's sons were in Iloilo two months ago. Cuevas said they have not monitored the whereabouts of Clarita and her children.

The Sandiganbayan Second Division on March 8 ordered the arrest of Garcia's wife and sons and recommended no bail for them.

The court upheld the Ombudsman's finding of probable cause to prosecute Garcia's family for conspiracy to amass at least P303.2 million in alleged ill-gotten wealth between 1993 and 2004.

An Ombudsman report said Juan Paulo, his elder brother Ian Carl and Clarita carried almost P44 million to the United States during trips between 1993 and 2004.

On Dec. 19, 2003, the two boys were held by Customs and Border Patrol after they failed to declare that they were traveling with $100,000, the report said.

The Garcias are also facing a P143-million forfeiture case in the Sandiganbayan.

The family owns more than P18 million worth of property in Iloilo and Guimaras provinces. These include the IJT Katamnan Corp. a three-hectare farm resort in Dumangas, Iloilo with assets totaling P15.3 million.*NPB

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