The Sandiganbayan on Monday said they remain unsure if when they will obtain custody over the wife and children of former military comptroller Carlos Garcia, who are the subject of extradition proceedings in the United States.

Sandiganbayan Sheriff Ed Urieta said that as with previous extradition cases, the Department of Justice, through the National Bureau of Investigation, takes the lead in the extradition, sending agents to secure the extraditees in the US and turning them over to the Sandiganbayan upn reaching the country.

Urieta, meanwhile, said the Garcias may not necessarily end up at the Quezon City Jail upon their extradition.

Urieta noted that while the QC jail is the official depository of Sandiganbayan detainees, there have been cases in the past, like Garcia himself, where the anti-graft court ordered that he be detained elsewhere.

Garcia is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame.

The extradition of the Garcias is due to a February 26, 2008 arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan for plunder.

The case is pending before the anti-graft court's second division. -- RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News