Court resets ex-PCGG chief’s arraignment

THE Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division has postponed the arraignment of former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio, who is facing graft charges for allegedly attempting to persuade his younger brother, a former magistrate, to help a litigant in 2008.

The court reset the arraignment to October 27 because Sabio has yet to hire a lawyer to represent him.

His former lawyer, Ro Megan Lea Abiog, earlier filed a motion to withdraw as counsel, saying that her earlier engagement was only for the purpose of representing Sabio in his plea to reduce the amount of bail recommended for his provisional liberty.

The graft charges were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman last year.

The Ombudsman alleged that Sabio “allow[ ed] himself to be persuaded, induced, or influenced by Atty. Jesus I. Santos” — who was a GSIS board member at the time — “by readily acceding to the latter’s request to persuade his brother, [ the late] Justice Jose L. Sabio, Jr., to help the Government Service Insurance System ( GSIS)” in a case filed by the Manila Electric Company ( Meralco) which was then pending with the Court of Appeals ( CA).

The case filed by Meralco against the GSIS stemmed from an ownership row. It was designated by raffle to the CA division then headed by Justice Sabio, who passed away in 2012.

The Office of the Ombudsman also alleged that Sabio “persuade[ d], induce[ d], or influence[ d] another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rule or regulation duly promulgated by competent authority when he suggested to his brother... to help the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), a party defendant in a case filed by Meralco, which [ was] pending before the Division of the said Court where [ then-] Justice Sabio [ was] the Chairperson, contrary to the Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary.”

The anti- graft office’s field investigators did not include the late Justice Sabio as a respondent “since records do not show that he had been influenced by his elder brother.”

Also on Friday, the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division deferred Sabio’s arraignment for three counts of malversation and a charge for failure to render accounts.

The court’s Fifth Division reset to November 17 his arraignment on these cases, which were filed against him earlier this year.

The Office of the Ombudsman alleged that Sabio “misappropriated, misapplied, embezzled and took away” P632,428.03 “for his own personal use and benefit, to the damage and prejudice of the government in the aforementioned amount.”

He supposedly received the sum as cash advances for “litigation and other related purposes.”