Ex-PCGG chief gets 20 years for graft

MANILA, Philippines - Former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio was sentenced to up to 20 years’ imprisonment as the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of two counts of graft over alleged anomalous car lease deals entered into with the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) in 2007 and 2009.

In its 20-page decision promulgated yesterday, the anti-graft court’s First Division said the Office of the Ombudsman was able to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that Sabio, as then PCGG chairman, authorized 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 exempted from public bidding, Sabio failed to present any proof that the lease agreements fall within the legal exemptions.

“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,” said the ruling penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg.

Associate Justices Efren de la Cruz and Bernelito Fernandez concurred with the ruling.

His wife Marlene accompanied Sabio when the clerk of court read the decision before him.

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 Corp. (ULFC). The contracts were for ULFC’s lease of its 11 service vehicles to UCPB.

The ombudsman said in 2012 that both contracts were executed through negotiated procurement.

The anti-graft court said that aside from violating the government procurement rules, Sabio also caused undue injury to the government since the lease was “unnecessary” since the PCGG had enough units of usable service vehicles at that time.

The court further noted 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 with 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 should pay 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 would definitely file an appeal insisting his innocence.

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

The charges against another accused, former PCGG commissioner Ricardo Abcede, was also dismissed since he died 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.