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Sunday, August 03, 2008
Palace confident CA row will end soon
MANILA -- Malacañang said it is confident the Supreme Court (SC) will resolve soon the mess involving an alleged bribery attempt on Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr.
Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez Jr. believed that the high court is aware of the need to maintain the integrity of the judicial branch.
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"We are glad to read in the newspapers that the Supreme Court will look into the matter. We are really confident this is going to be resolved soon," Golez said.
He said it is important that the SC act "just to make sure all the processes in our system will not be at stake."
The bribery mess stemmed from a court row between the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
Sabio said a "broker" approached him and offered P10 million in exchange for inhibiting himself from the case. The "broker" was eventually identified as Francis de Borja.
But according to de Borja, it was Sabio who harbored thoughts of profiting from the mess, to the tune of P50 million.
Sabio denied de Borja's claim and challenged him to a lie-detector test.
On the other hand, Meralco owner Manolo Lopez, who is allegedly behind de Borja's move, refuted allegations he tried to bribe the CA justice.
The Palace is taking a hands-off policy on the alleged bribery.
Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said they would just monitor the developments at the moment.
"We're monitoring. We're monitoring closely and that we're confident that proper agencies or the proper forum will take care of what appropriate steps to take in the light of these events," Dureza said.
The CA after a closed-door en banc session on Thursday decided to leave the issue of bribery to the SC to handle and the dispute between GSIS and Meralco to the "parties concerned for appropriate action."
Asked why Malacañang is suddenly being careful about controversies involving those from the other branches of government, Dureza said: "The Palace would have to be very careful in immediately stepping into matters that are still not within the provinces of the Palace right now. That's the only reason for it."
"It is a matter that is now taking place in the judiciary and since it's in the judiciary, so let it be there. It can take care of itself," he added. (JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (August 3, 2008 issue)
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