Sandiganbayan finds ex-PCGG chair Sabio guilty of graft

MANILA, Philippines — Former Presidential Commission on Good Government chairman Camilo Sabio faces up to 20 years in prison as the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of two counts of graft over anomalous car lease deals entered with the United Coconut Planters Bank in 2007 and 2009.

 

In its 20-page decision promulgated Thursday, the anti-graft court's First Division said the prosecution team from Office of the Ombudsman was able to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that Sabio, as then PCGG chairman, authorized the execution of the two car lease contracts “without the necessary procedures of public bidding” required under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

 

The court pointed out that while some government procurement may be excepted from public bidding, Sabio failed to present “not even one document..to show that the subject lease agreements are within the said legal exceptions”.

 

“These point to the fact that there is bad faith on the part of Sabio in authoring these contracts as well as entering into these transactions. Indeed, there is nothing clearer than this – the patent and flagrant disregard of the law,” the ruling penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg read.

 

Associate Justices Efren De La Cruz and Bernelito Fernandez concurred with the ruling.

 

Sabio was accompanied by his wife, Marlene, when the decision was read before him by the clerk of court.

 

Filed by the Ombudsman in 2012, the graft cases stemmed from the two contracts totaling P12.127 million that the PCGG entered into with its sequestered company UCPB Leasing and Finance Corporation (ULFC).

 

The contracts were for ULFC's lease of its 11 service vehicles to UCPB.

 

The ombudsman said both contracts were executed through negotiated procurement.

In its decision, the First Division said that aside from violating the government procurement rules, Sabio also caused undue injury to the government as the lease was “unnecessary” as the PCGG had enough units of usable service vehicles at that time.

 

The court further noted that the leasing of the ULFC vehicles was not included in the PCGG's “approved budget” for those years.

 

“Adding the fact that there was no allotment for vehicle leases for the same years, we are left within the inconvertible conclusions that Sabio was motivated by a dishonest purpose or some moral obliquity and conscious doing of a wrong when he subjected the PCGG, and the government, to an expense which was essentially unnecessary,” the decision read.

 

Sabio was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years to a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment for both cases. The court also ordered his perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

 

The court, however, clarified that should Sabio decide to file a motion for reconsideration, he must pay a P120,000 cash bond in exchange for his provisional liberty pending the court's resolution of his appeal.

 

Sabio appeared downhearted following the decision's promulgation, but his wife said their camp will definitely file an appeal as “he is innocent”.

 

The First Division had earlier dismissed the charges against Sabio's three co-accused: former PCGG commissioners Nicasio Conti, Narciso Nario and Tereso Javier. Charges were dismissed on the ground of the ombudsman's “inordinate delay” in filing the cases.

 

The charges against another accused, former PCGG commissioner Ricardo Abcede, was dismissed because of his death in 2012.

 

In April last year, another division of the Sandiganbayan acquitted Sabio of graft and malversation cases which stemmed from his alleged misuse of almost P12 million worth of recovered ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.