GSIS-Meralco Bribery Case

The GSIS-Meralco bribery case is a political controversy and pending legal case being heard by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. This complex case began with a complaint filed by the GSIS with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines (SEC) questioning the unvalidated proxy votes used by the Lopez family in the last board election of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco). The SEC issued a cease and desist order (CDO) against Meralco, which was ignored by the latter. A show cause order (SCO) was then issued by the SEC, whereupon Meralco petitioned the Court of Appeals, questioning the jurisdiction of the SEC. The Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to the SEC while the Special 9th Division composed of Associate Justices Vicente Q. Roxas, Jose L. Sabio Jr. and Myrna Dimaranan Vidal heard the case. Roxas was assigned as the ponente while Sabio was the acting chairman.

Later, Sabio called a press conference and alleged that an emissary of Meralco tried to bribe him with P10 Million to have a case transferred to another appeals court justice. The criminal charges are obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office. Sabio did not mention any names, but businessman Francis de Borja stepped forward and claimed that he was the alleged emissary, accusing Sabio of asking for a P50 Million bribe to side with Meralco, in response to De Borja’s question “What will it take for you to resist the government’s offer?” The alleged government offer was a Supreme Court position. In the latter course of the investigation, Sabio let slip that his brother, PCGG Chairman Camilo Sabio, called him up twice to urge him to side favorably with the government. The late admission of the allegedly unethical and criminal action called into doubt the innocence of Sabio in coming forward with his expose and the veracity of his entire story. These acts are alleged to be punishable under Article 208 and 243 of the Revised Penal Code respectively.

It also came out during the course of the Supreme Court investigation that Court of Appeals Justice Vicente Roxas, the ponente of the controversial Meralco decision, had himself committed improprieties. One such impropriety was the fact that Roxas preempted the legal opinion of Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez that the Special 9th Division should have ruled on the case as per the Internal Rules of the Court of Appeals (IRCA), and not the 8th Division to which Roxas was transferred, and which eventually promulgated a ruling in favor of Meralco, with Justices Reyes and Apolinario Bruselas hastily signing the ponencia without going over or reading the memoranda submitted by concerned parties.

The Supreme Court, voting 12-1, ordered the dismissal of Roxas after he was found guilty of multiple violations of the canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct, grave misconduct, dishonesty, undue interest and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.

Sabio was suspended for two months after he was found guilty of simple misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a justice of the CA. Vasquez was severely reprimanded “for his failure to act promptly and decisively in order to avert the incidence that damaged the image of the Court of Appeals,” Reyes was found guilty of simple misconduct with mitigating circumstance, and Vidal, guilty of conduct unbecoming of a justice of the appellate court for being “too compliant" when she allowed herself to sign the decision without reading the parties’ memorandum.