The high court ruled the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has no control over the Office of the Ombudsman, the latter being an independent constitutional body. The court's Third Division junked the petition for certiorari filed by the government, through the OSG, assailing the plea bargaining agreement in 2010 between the Office of the Special Prosecutor and Garcia. "The government was already rightfully represented by the Office of the Ombudsman in the plunder case [against Garcia] before the Sandiganbayan. It had no authority to impose that the latter's handling of the plea bargaining agreement was grossly disadvantageous to the government and the people's welfare," the high tribunal said. In 2010, then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez entered into a plea bargaining agreement with Garcia.

Source: Manila Times June 01, 2021 16:30 UTC