BY EVANGELINE DE VERA

THE Department of Justice will summon suspended Court of Appeals Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr. next week to reaffirm bribery allegations against businessman Francis de Borja.

DOJ Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, panel chair on the bribery case, issued a subpoena for Sabio to appear on Tuesday.

"He has to bring with him copies of his written affidavit dated August 7 and other supporting documents. They may have retracted their statements, for all we know," he said.

Pineda said the panel hopes to finish the investigation by Oct. 16.

Sabio had told the three-man SC panel composed of former SC Justices Carolina Grino-Aquino and members Flerida Ruth Romero and Romeo Callejo Sr. that De Borja tried to bribe him with P10 million if he would inhibit from the case.

He said that De Borja even bragged that he was with Meralco chairman Manuel Lopez and the latter was just waiting in a car if he (Sabio) would accept the offer. However, Lopez was later able to show that at the time of the supposed conversation, he was out of the country.

Sabio said his affidavit is corroborated by a statement of De Borja’s relative, Evelyn Clavano, who said De Borja sought Sabio’s phone number in the third week of July.

De Borja has denied the allegations, saying it was Sabio who named his price of P50 million when he asked what it would take for him to accept the government’s offer for him to rule in favor of the Government Service Insurance System, which has been seeking to wrest control of the power utility firm from the Lopezes.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez earlier claimed that Sabio has to testify and personally charge De Borja; otherwise, the case would be dismissed.