Silence filled the court room as the man in a white barong went up to the witness stand. The microphone shrieked and had to be adjusted before he could swear to tell the truth. Then Camilo Sabio, the chairman of PCGG ( Philippine Commission on Good Government ), calmly sat down.
He was appearing on a subpoena from the panel investigating the improprieties committed by Justices of the Court of Appeals. Apparently, Camilo Sabio had called his brother, Justice Jose Sabio,Jr. , to “help” the Government Services Insurance System ( GSIS ) win its case against Meralco. To the surprise of many, Jose had included this phone call in his affidavit which, in part, read :
2. On May 30, on or about 8 o' clock in the morning, while I was at my chambers, I received a call from my brother, PCGG Chairman Camilo Sabio, informing me that I was the third member of the division to which the Meralco - GSIS case was raffled. This was a surprise to me because I had not yet been officially informed about it. He then said that he heard that a TRO was already prepared. At this point, he then tried to convince me of the rightness of the stand of the GSIS and the SEC. I then told him that I will vote according to my conscience and that the most I can do is to have the issuance of the TRO and the injunctive relief scheduled for oral arguments. I also told him that during said hearing respondents must be able to convince me that the TRO did not have a legal basis.3. Not long thereafter, Justice Vicente Roxas entered my chambers....
Before he testified, Camilo Sabio asked permission to read his prepared statement. The panel chairman, retired Justice Carolina Grino – Aquino looked straight at him and nodded her head. As he narrated his reasons for ignoring the subpoena issued earlier by the panel investigating the improprieties of the Justices of the Court of Appeals, the audience began to fidget. The two other panel members – fellow retired Justices Flerida Romero and Romeo Callejo – listened intently. Soon enough, Callejo looked away at the glass windows.
Camilo Sabio went on about his being a member of the cabinet. A murmur started humming amongst the audience : he will ask for executive priviledge, some of the people whispered to each other. Aquino immediately addressed the issue. “No, I am not invoking executive priviledge,” Camilo Sabio stated, and he said that he preferred to be called “ Secretary Sabio. “
The first signs of the angle that Camilo Sabio would take in his defense came with his preface of “… My basic mandate as a government official is to protect the long-suffering public who are at the mercy of the monopoly of Meralco… “ Some snickers followed from the audience which grew more audibly when he repeated the ‘long-suffering public’ phrase the third time.
Then the monologue continued on how 38 years ago, during the Marcos years, he was arrested, jailed and how he forgave his oppressors. By this time, Callejo’s silver ballpen was tapping the desk faster than he had done at any other time during the hearings. Minutes were ticking away and we were all eager to know the details of Camilo Sabio’s phone call to his brother
From cross examination and further questions, Camilo declared that he believed “… there is nothing wrong with what I did. “ Romero wanted to clarify this stance and asked him if he felt there was anything improper, illegal or unethical about a relative calling up a justice to influence him on how to decide a case? Camilo replied, “ No. Given the same circumstances, I would probably do it again. “ Callejo’s ballpen was nearly hammering the table top with these replies and his hands covered his mouth.
TRO and 1.30 pm
The panel judges needed to have Camilo narrate how he got the information about the TRO being prepared. Camilo said that when he was in Davao airport he got a phone call from Atty Jesus Santos who informed him that the TRO was being drafted and to “Please Help.” Callejo asked if this is the same Atty. Santos who represents Mike Arroyo in the libel cases. Yes, Camilo replied. Camilo continued that he tried to call his brother, Jose, but the airplane was taking off and he could not hear so he waited until he reached Manila to call his brother again. What time was that ? “ About 1.30 pm.” ( very different from the 8 am mentioned in the affidavit listed above )
Knowing that Camilo is a lawyer and after having been read the different canons of the law which specifically stated that he had breached laws, Romero asked him what thoughts were going through his mind during the flight from Davao to Manila; did Camilo have any thoughts about the conflict of calling his brother to influence him? My heart beat even faster with the tension, knowing that Camilo was defiant about his actions. Callejo wanted to know if Camilo thought that ‘…any member of the cabinet can call a justice of the court of appeals to ask him … “ to which Camilo replied, “… these were peculiar circumstances.”
The panel judges were respectful of Camilo although their determined mouths shaped an inverted smile. Callejo then proceeded to ask Camilo if Jose had mentioned that someone had offered a bribe. Again, Camilo replied, “ Yes “ but he could not recall when. Apparently, Camilo’s reaction to bribe offers is to ignore them and not make a fuss because he gets bribe offers regularly. No, he never would consider reporting these bribe offers. Camilo’s attitude caused Callejo to clench his fists, shake his head and reply “ … that is the difference between us. “
Discrepancies in the Affidavit
Camilo also testified that his brother, Jose, had told him during the phone conversation at 1.30 pm that “… it was too late. I have already signed the TRO.” Atty. Aguirre snapped at the opportunity and asked Camilo to verify if Jose had told him that the TRO had not yet been signed. The panel chairman ruled, “ Already answered. “
