Ex-PCGG chair perpetually disqualified from holding public office due to grave misconduct

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court on Thursday found a former chairperson of the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) guilty of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service which resulted in his perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

The SC, citing the Ombudsman’s findings, said that former PCGG chair Camilo Sabio intervened in a pending case between the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) by attempting to influence the “judicial discretion” of his brother, former Court of Appeals Justice Jose Sabio Jr. regarding the case.

Camilo has also been disqualified from civil service eligibility and his retirement benefits are forfeited. 

He is also permanently banned from seeking employment in any government position, including within any government-owned and controlled corporations, and permanently prohibited from participating in civil service examinations.

The field investigation office (FIO) of the Ombudsman together with Alain Baguisi, Ma. Kristina Ponti and Leander Marquez likewise filed administrative complaints against Camilo.

The Ombudsman found that Camilo then committed “flagrant disregard of well-known legal, and more importantly, ethical rules,” which “unduly prejudiced and compromised the image and independence of the judiciary, and government service in general,” which has also been affirmed by the CA. 

Camilo then filed a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 before the SC to assail the decision of the CA dated March 31, 2015.

The SC denied the petition on July 4, 2023 saying that he used his position and influence to achieve his "unprofessional objectives" and to "willingly create this undue impression that justice is not at all blind, but can easily be distorted and manipulated at the will of the powerful and the "connected." 

“Sabio’s (Camilo) actions not only ‘seriously prejudiced the best interest of his public position and the government office he represented, but also tainted the image and integrity of the appellate arm of the Judiciary, ultimately compromising the public trust that he had sworn to serve and preserve,'” the court said.

Relatedly, in 2019, the Sandiganbayan handed down a verdict sentencing Camilo to a prison term of six to 10 years and a lifetime ban from holding any public office.

In 2017, Camilo was also convicted of two counts of graft by the Sandiganbayan due to the anomalous vehicle leases on the PCGG when he was still the agency's chairperson. He also appealed to overturn this conviction before the SC.

Camilo likewise attempted to run for president but his presidential bid was blocked due to the Ombudmsan's prohibition.