Roxas blames GSIS, politics for his ouster
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/11/2008 10:16 PM
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Dismissed Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Vicente Roxas, the decision writer in the corporate legal battle for control of the Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO), believes that his ouster was part of a demolition job purportedly orchestrated by the losing party, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
In an exclusive interview Thursday with ABS-CBN senior correspondent Karen Davila, Roxas said an “unseen hand” had been “orchestrating all of this, which I didn't know at that time.”
"All I knew at the time that I was the ponente was that I had to do a good job, so I kept things like a military operation, just like I do in all of my cases, and kept everything in wraps so that there will be no leakage,” Roxas said.
Roxas said that as a ponente or writer of the decision in one of the most controversial corporate cases in Philippine history, many people came to his office in an alleged effort to stop the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) sought by the Lopez family, one of the major stockholders of MERALCO.
The GSIS, which is also MERALCO’s major stockholder, had tried to take control of the country's largest power distribution firm from the Lopezes during the company’s election of new board members held on May 27.
Roxas said he later found out that the people who tried to “bully” him so that he would not issue a TRO were allegedly GSIS officials and lawyers.
“Noong umpisang-umpisa pa lang, two PR (press relations) firms ang hinire na ng GSIS laban sa akin para sirain ang pangalan ko noong nalaman nilang hindi nila ako mabu-bully. Kaya ang ginawa nila, hinire na nila yung two PR firms para sirain ako kasi hindi nila mabubuwag yung TRO,” he said.
MERALCO vs GSIS
MERALCO’s TRO petition asked the CA to bar the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from implementing its cease-and-desist order (CDO) directing the power distribution firm to exclude management-solicited proxies in its board election.
Defying the CDO, MERALCO went ahead with the election. The proxy votes allowed the Lopez group to win more seats in the election of a new board and keep their control of the power utility firm, defeating the government's move to take management control.
Roxas, a member of the Eighth Division which promulgated the July 23 decision favoring MERALCO, ruled that a regional trial court, and not SEC, has authority over intra-corporate disputes.
The other justices who signed the decision were division chair Justice Bienvenido Reyes and Justice Apolinario Bruselas.
Roxas was once part of the Special Ninth Division, together with Justice Jose Sabio Jr. as chair, and Justice Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal as member. This division issued the TRO last May 30.
Self-inflicted
The GSIS, meanwhile, denied Roxas’s allegations, saying that the magistrate brought his troubles upon himself because of the alleged irregularities he committed.
“Siya ang sumira sa kanyang integridad at reputation. Dapat nga ay ma-disbar na rin siya dahil sa mga kaseryosohan ng mga ginawa niya,” GSIS chief legal counsel Estrella Elamparo said.
Instead of hurling accusations against GSIS, Elamparo said Roxas should disclose to the public who was behind his decision favoring MERALCO.
Roxas vs Sabio brothers
Roxas said he felt the SC's decision to dismiss him was unfair and wrong, noting that it was Justice Sabio and his brother, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio, who violated the law.
Roxas pointed out that it was Justice Sabio who violated the CA rules on reorganization, and it was his brother who tried to influence his decision in the case.
He said it was Justice Sabio who should be dismissed and not him.
“Wala kaming kinalalaman diyan. Kaming sa Eighth Division, very careful nga kami na ayaw naming pakiusap, maski kanino. Kasi ayaw naming masabi ng tao, ‘O, kinausap mo yon.’ Ganun nga lumalabas kay Sabio. Bakit ako ngayon paparusahan nila ng dismissal? Dapat ‘yung lumabag sa batas, ‘yun ang dapat nila i-dismiss,” he said.
He said he could not believe that Justice Sabio was able to get out of the mess by a mere suspension for two months.
He admitted that his dismissal came as surprise.
'Partly political'
Roxas said he felt that his dismissal was “partly political” because he issued a decision favorable to MERALCO.
“It’s political in the sense that from the very beginning, an unseen hand has been manipulating all of these things.”
Ever since he took over the case, he said his life “became miserable,” lamenting that he was even accused of trying to rig the assignment of the case.
Roxas said he would no longer file a motion for reconsideration, adding that it would now be “futile” to do so. He said he might go back to being a lawyer.
Decision was correct
During Thursday’s exclusive interview with ABS-CBN, Roxas stood pat on his decision, saying that as a former SEC consultant for 12 years, he knew that the case was not under SEC’s jurisdiction.
“Ang game plan ng GSIS, noong umpisang-umpisa pa, sinsisiraan na ako kasi alam nila hindi nila kayang buwagin ang decision. Kailangan, bubuwagin nila ang ponente. Kapag nabuwag na nila ang ponente, bubuwagin nila ‘yong decision,” Roxas said.
Roxas added: "I'm in awe as to why....But I can tell you this, the price of following my conscience is so valuable to me that I cannot exchange it for anything, not even money, position. Probably in hindsight, I was thinking, if probably I gave in to GSIS people in the beginning by not granting the TRO, there are six vacancies in the SC (Supreme Court) next year. I think I would be probably one of them who will be benefitting that position.”
SC decision
Roxas is the third magistrate from the Court of Appeals (CA) to be dismissed in the appellate court’s history after the SC dismissed him for displaying “dishonesty,” “disrespectfulness” and “undue interest” in the MERALCO case.
Roxas received the biggest blow among five CA justices sanctioned Tuesday by the high court for committing irregularities and improprieties in the MERALCO-GSIS case.
The SC adopted the findings of the investigating panel composed of retired justices Carolina Griño, Flerida Romero and Romeo Callejo on the bribery scandal and stripped Roxas of all benefits except accrued leave credits.
Roxas’s “fabrication” of the transcript of the Eighth Division’s July 24 final deliberations on the Meralco-GSIS legal tiff proved to be his worst misstep as such violation warranted dismissal from the judiciary.
Not fabricated
Roxas denied that he fabricated the transcript, which contained seemingly verbatim statements and arguments from the three members of the Eighth Division.
“Ako ang gumagawa lahat ng desisyon ko para walang leakage, walang masasabi ang tao na iba ang gumawa ng desisyon ko. Lahat ng desisyon ko, personal na nire-research ko. Ako mismo ang nagta-type sa computer kaya alam na alam ko na ‘yong desisyon ko, gawa ko. Kaya ‘yong sasabihin nila na ‘yung desisyon is based on a transcript, or ‘yung deliberation based on the decision, hindi totoo ‘yon,” he said.
Roxas said that since he knew the significance of the case, he suggested that someone should take down the minutes of the deliberation per CA internal rules.
He said Reyes, the division chair, had agreed that he prepare the transcript since there was no available stenographer to take down the discussions.
Roxas said he prepared the transcript “after the deliberation, from memory” and then furnished a copy to other justices.
“If you would remember I told you, if you don't get three signatures, it’s not official. I only found out at the panel hearing that, when the decision was already signed, they did not sign the minutes of the deliberation. It was only I who signed it, so, based on the three-justice rule, this paper is considered unofficial, not official,” he said.
The CA magistrate maintained that the contents of the documents were not fabricated.
He said if ever he committed a mistake, it would be that he did not specifically indicate in the document who made a certain argument or raised a certain point because he could no longer remember.
Roxas, however, maintained that he did not regret writing the transcript, which, he said, was a practice that has not been observed in the CA for a long time.
On his being dishonest and disrespectful, Roxas said: “Well, the dishonesty I think refers to the fact of the transcript, and also the fact that I threw into the garbage can the decision that was signed by Justice Vidal.”
He added: “I was moved from the Ninth Division to the Eighth Division, so this MERALCO vs GSIS case followed the ponente, meaning me, to the Eighth Division. So, it was no longer Justice Vidal who should have signed it.” -- With reports from Purple Romero, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
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