Former PCGG head faces graft raps

MANILA, Philippines - Former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio is now facing graft charges for allegedly trying to influence his brother, Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr., to help a party-litigant in a case pending before the appellate court.

In a joint resolution, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales found sufficient grounds to indict the ex-PCGG chief for two counts of graft.

Records showed that on May 30,2008, Justice Sabio got a call from his brother, then PCGG chairman Sabio, informing him that he had been named member of the CA division to which the Meralco-GSIS case had been raffled.

The PCGG head tried to convince his brother "of the rightness of the stand of the GSIS and ask his brother to help the GSIS, which represents the interest of the people," the resolution read.

Ombudsman investigators also found out that Chairman Sabio received a call from GSIS Board Member Jesus Santos informing him that the Meralco-GSIS case was already raffled to the division of Justice Sabio.

Santos then requested chairman Sabio to convince his brother to rule against the issuance of Temporary Restraining Order in favor of Meralco.

The Ombudsman did not include Justice Sabio in the graft cases  "since records do not show that he had been influenced by the elder brother."