'Justices in GSIS-Meralco row should resign'
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/01/2008 9:08 AM
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The Integrated Bar of the Philippines on Monday called for the resignations of Court of Appeals magistrates linked to alleged bribery and influence-peddling in the GSIS-Meralco case.
In a paid ad in The Philippine Star, IBP officials said appellate court magistrates involved in the controversy should immediately and irrevocably submit their resignations out of delicadeza and to salvage the integrity of the Court of Appeals as an important national institution.
"The resignation is a necessary sacrifice that needs to be made by those whose names have been dragged into the scandal," the IBP said.
The IBP said the Supreme Court's creation of a three-man independent panel to investigate the controversy is commendable but reactionary especially since influence-peddling in the courts has been described as nothing new and has been going on for a long time.
The IBP said CA justices directly involved in allegations of corruption "have exposed a troubling divisiveness and a penchant for personal self-preservation that further erodes the image of what is considered the second highest court in the land."
"The need to address corruption in the judiciary goes beyond the issue of the ongoing investigations, but it needs to start and end where the controversy all started. The honorable magistrates of the Court of Appeals now have the opportunity to show the entire country that there are no sacred crows so to speak," the IBP said.
"This is their chance to convince the nation that indeed, corruption is a real and pressing problem and needs the collective effort of the Court to address and stamp out."
Last month, the Supreme Court formed a three-man panel headed by retired Associate Justice Carolina Griño-Aquino to investigate alleged corruption and influence-peddling charges against appellate court charges handling the GSIS-Meralco case.
CA Justice Jose Sabio earlier accused businessman and alleged Meralco emissary Francis de Borja of offering him a P10 million bribe to let go of the case involving the fight for control of the Meralco board between the Lopez family and the Government Service Insurance system (GSIS). De Borja countered by saying that Sabio was willing to accept P50 million in exchange for rejecting juicy offers from government, including a Supreme Court post, to rule in favor of the GSIS.
Sabio has also indicated that there may be something suspicious in the way two other justices of the CA quickly ruled in favor of Meralco.
The CA decision effectively blocked GSIS President Winston Garcia's attempt to take control of the Meralco board.
The case took an interesting turn during the investigation after Sabio admitted getting a call from his brother, Camilo, to favor GSIS in the case. Camilo Sabio, chairman of the
Presidential Commission on Good Government, later admitted that he called his brother after he received a call from lawyer Jesus Santos, a member of the GSIS board of trustees and legal counsel of First Gentleman Jose Miguel ‘Mike’ Arroyo in his libel cases.
Santos said it was "his moral duty" to help the GSIS.
