"What would it take for you to resist the
government's offer?"
This question was asked of Appeals Justice
Jose Sabio by Francis de Borja, a businessman who felt alluded
to in the P10 million bribe offer for a favorable decision in
the Meralco case.
The answer of Sabio, according to a sworn
affidavit executed by De Borja, was "fifty million."
In the affidavit, De Borja said that Sabio
told him he was "being offered a promotion to the Supreme Court
and money to favor the GSIS" in its fight for control of Meralco.
"This was probably the reason he (Sabio) was
hanging on so desperately to the acting chairmanship of the
division (handling the Meralco case). because if he gives it up,
he would lose his chance for a Supreme Court seat and the
promise of monetary reward," De Borja said.
De Borja also said that Sabio told him he had
suspicion "about the motive of Justice (Bienvenido) Reyes and
other division members in their wanting Justice Reyes to resume
chairmanship of the division."
Sabio has his own reasons for staying. He
told De Borja he had signed the temporary restraining order
issued against the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Hindi bale sana kung hindi ako ang pumirma,"
the affidavit quotes Sabio as saying.
The affidavit says that Sabio talked to Reyes
several times but the latter never told him he wanted to come
back.
"Walang sinasabi sa akin yon pala gusto
niyang bumalik. Why did he not say anything to me? Parang
trinaidor ako."
Sabio is quoted in the affidavit as having
asked: "Why does he (Justice Reyes) want to come back. Seguro
mayroon silang gustong gawain dito."
According to the affidavit, Sabio also said
that he had consulted his peers in the Court of Appeals and they
told him he was in the right and should stick to his guns.
The affidavit also says that Sabio consulted
his two lawyer-children who advised him not to give way.
According to the affidavit, Sabio told Borja
he had to hold on as acting chairman for the Meralco case so he
could go to the Supreme Court.
In his mind, De Borja said, the statements
exposed the motive for Sabio's insistence on remaining as acting
division chairman.
The Meralco case was raffled to the Ninth
Division where Reyes is chairman. He was on leave of absence at
that time. To make a full division, Sabio took over as acting
chairman.
Reyes went back to work but Justice Sabio
refused to vacate the chairmanship of the division.
In fact, the court told him to give up the
temporary chairmanship since the regular chairman, Reyes, was
back at work.
Sabio defied the order, prompting the calling
of an en banc session to discuss the administrative question of
whether or not Sabio should give up the temporary chairmanship
of the division that will decide the Meralco case after the GSIS
filed a motion for reconsideration.
The internal rules of the CA drawn up in 2002
say that a justice in whose hands or division a case landed
brings the case with him even if he is transferred to another
division.
De Borja claims familiarity with Sabio having
known him as regional trial court judge in Cagayan de Oro where
his mother, a Roa, comes from.
He said that Sabio facilitated the sale of a
400-hectare property near the airport in Cagayan de Oro owned by
the late Rep. Pedro "Oloy" Roa.
De Borja said that in the course of the
negotiation, the Roa family got legal advice from Sabio.
After the sale was completed, De Borja said:
"I gave Three Hundred Thousand Pesos (P300,000) to Judge Sabio
in appreciation of the efforts he had undertaken towards the
successful completion of the transaction."
De Borja said he met Sabio on July 1at the
Ateneo Law School in Makati and invited the latter for a dinner
at the Rockwell Mall. The latter declined, saying his wife was
fetching him.
De Borja said they talked at the Ateneo lobby
lounge and the Meralco case came up because it was hogging the
headlines.
Sabio, in a statement issued last night, said
De Borja's affidavit was not only ridiculous but incredible.
"He has absolutely twisted the facts," he
said.
"I vehemently deny that he ever asked me what
it takes to inhibit from the case, nor give any reply in the
manner he stated in the affidavit. I never asked for money," he
said.
"On the contrary he told me that he was sent
by Manolo Lopez who was with him in the car because it was a
matter of life and death for them," he said.
"What they are doing now is obviously a smear campaign since
they have the money and the resources. They will do all they can
to discredit me," Sabio said. - APM
