Tuesday, September 30, 2008 De Borja appeals ruling on bribe try
BUSINESSMAN Francis de Borja on Monday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its decision that found him probably liable for an alleged attempt to corrupt a magistrate of the Court of Appeals (CA) handling the Meralco ownership case.
The assailed September 9 decision of the SC ruled that de Borja should be investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) vis-à-vis the claims of the alleged whistleblower CA Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr. that he had been offered a P10-million bribe in exchange for his inhibition from the Meralco case.
The same decision, based on the investigation conducted by the three-man panel of investigators, composed of retired SC justices, likewise ordered Sabio's two month suspension and the dismissal of Justice Vicente Roxas, ponente of the controversial decision that stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of jurisdiction to hear the Meralco-Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) board election dispute.
In his motion for reconsideration, de Borja said the SC decision is a prejudgment of his guilt, pointing out that the panel investigation was not a preliminary investigation to determine the criminal liability of the persons appearing before it.
"It was a mere fact-finding inquiry to aid the SC in its administrative supervision of lower courts. The SC spent only five days, including an intervening weekend, to examine and analyze the voluminous records submitted along with the panel report to reach the conclusion that there is 'reason to believe' that de Borja may be criminally liable for his attempt to bribe a magistrate of the CA," he said through lawyer Emmanuel Neria.
According to de Borja, the decision violated his right to be presumed innocent because no prosecutor would dare contradict the findings of the high court.
He said the tribunal erred when it found Sabio's version of the alleged bribe attempt more believable, pointing out that the magistrate even admitted that he had been influenced by his brother, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio, a GSIS emissary.
The Cagayan de Oro-based real estate broker further claimed that although he initiated the contact between him and Justice Sabio, the latter willingly agreed to meet with him to talk about the case pending before him, much like he did when he spoke with his brother.
De Borja further said Justice Sabio made no qualms about receiving P300,000 from him in an illicit real estate transaction which occurred at the time Justice Sabio was still a regional trial court judge, and that they continued communicating about the case even after their first meeting when the alleged bribe offer was made.
"The telephone call from his brother, the blandishments of money and a promotion to the SC, fit logically with Justice Sabio's attempt to feel out how de Borja would react to his asking price of P50 million to resist the pressures and blandishments of GSIS. Justice Sabio was merely weighing his options, which makes de Borja's version more credible," the motion further stated.
Justice Sabio's actions, de Borja claimed, warrant his dismissal from service and criminal prosecution against him and his brother.
De Borja said the SC "applied justice with an uneven hand," pointing out that instead of summoning lawyer Jesus Santos, a GSIS trustee mentioned as the link between GSIS and the Sabio brothers, the SC panel "chose to terminate its proceedings and left the picture incomplete," while lawyers of the GSIS were not disciplined for their unethical conduct.
He noted that Justice Sabio's acts after the Meralco decision was rendered were solely for the purpose of discrediting the decision and for personal vainglory.
"There is absolutely no evidence of any of the justices who rendered the decision in favor of Meralco being improperly approached to influence their decision. On the contrary, the undisputed evidence of an improper approach to influence the decision involved a series of interlocking admissions that Camilo Sabio acting at the behest of lawyer Jesus Santos, lawyer of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, ordered or suggested that his younger brother (to) 'help the GSIS,'" de Borja told the SC.
He likewise lashed at CA Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez Jr. for acting with malice and undue interest in the case, for which he must likewise be dismissed. He noted that Vasquez failed to act on leaks from the CA and even authorized Justice Sabio to leak of internal court communications to the media.
De Borja's motion for reconsideration was filed a few days after the deadline set by the SC for the filing of an appeal, which was on September 25.
The CA magistrates who have filed their motions for reconsideration were Justice Sabio, Vasquez, and Justice Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal.
Roxas no longer appealed the decision, saying it would be a futile attempt since the SC is not likely to reverse itself.
The DOJ, through a panel chaired by Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, is conducting a fact-finding investigation for possible filing of criminal charges against de Borja following a preliminary investigation for determination of probable cause based on the SC's referral of his action to the justice department. (ECV/Sunnex)
