The two sons of retired military comptroller Carlos Garcia entered not guilty pleas to cash smuggling charges during a hearing in the United States.
 
Juan Paulo and Ian Carl Garcia pled not guilty to bulk cash smuggling charges, in front of Judge James Larsen at the US District Court in San Francisco this morning.

The judge raised their bail to $1 million each. Relatives and friends, who were present at the hearing, said they will co-sign to meet the bond, by offering to put their properties at stake.

The prosecution alleged that the Garcia family has properties in the US that have been transferred to other people's names to avoid seizure. The court has yet to determine that allegation.

The Garcia brothers, sons of former Philippine General Carlos Garcia, were indicted for four counts of smuggling $100,000 into the US in 2003.

General Garcia, his wife and three sons --- including Juan Paulo and Ian Carl --- are also facing plunder charges in the Philippines for allegedly amassing $303.27 million pesos or $6 million of ill-gotten wealth during the general’s tenure in the military. They have yet to face extradition proceedings.

Last February 25, Juan Paulo was arrested in Pontiac, Michigan and Ian Carl in Las Vegas, Nevada --- both their areas of residence.

The Garcia brothers were released, each on a $10,000 bail bond, after their detention hearings last week.

During the arraignment, there was a debate on whether the brothers would be detained or not. The defense said that the brothers have known about their charges in the Philippines for a long time and yet, they have not fled.

Their laywers said they voluntarily flew out to San Francisco to attend the arraignment. The brothers are US citizens and they have been based in the US since 1979.

The judge said he decided not to detain them, citing that he will not disrupt their normal lives as US citizens, at least for the meantime.

However, their movement is now limited. Their US passports have been turned in and they cannot change addresses or travel outside their areas of residence without court permission, or unless they need to attend their hearings in Northern California.

The judge is also recommending another $1 million bail bond for each of the brothers should they avoid extradition.

The brothers face a maximum of 20 years in jail for all four counts of bulk cash smuggling and $250,000 fine.

Their next court hearings in San Francisco are scheduled for March 12 on the extradition and March 18 on the bulk cash smuggling charges.