Mike Arroyo lawyer admits phone call, says it was for GSIS
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:51:00 08/28/2008
Filed Under: Judiciary (system of justice), Graft & Corruption, Politics
MANILA, Philippines—Jesus Santos, a lawyer of the husband of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, admits he called up the chair of Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) whose brother is a Court of Appeals justice to ask support for the campaign of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to end the “mismanagement” of the Lopez family in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
In a statement, Santos, a member of the GSIS board of trustees, denied that he tried to influence the CA on the GSIS-Meralco case and that he called up PCGG Chair Camilo Sabio at the behest of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
“It’s unfair for the First Gentleman to be dragged into this just because I’m one of his many lawyers. I had also served as his spokesperson in the past, but not so in this issue of which he absolutely has nothing to do with,” Santos said.
He described as “the right thing to do” his decision to call the PCGG chair on May 30 to lobby for the GSIS case against Meralco being handled by the latter’s brother.
“I only told Chairman Sabio if anything legal can be done to give justice to long-suffering Meralco customers being saddled by its exorbitant power rates,” he said.
At the hearing on Tuesday of the panel that the Supreme Court created to look into improprieties at the Court of Appeals, the PCGG chair disclosed that he phoned his brother, Justice Jose Sabio Jr., because Santos had enlisted his help.
Senators to Palace: Explain
Senators said Malacañang itself should explain why the lawyer of the President’s husband had tried to influence the court decision.
“What was the role of Attorney Santos in this issue? What was his motive? Who was he representing? Given that he is the First Gentleman’s lawyer, it would be best for Malacañang to come forward and explain whether or not Santos was acting on behalf of the President’s husband,” Senate Minority Leader Francis Pangilinan said in a statement.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President’s husband could not have ordered Santos to intervene in favor of GSIS.
“Just because (of) people’s knowledge that the legal officer is identified with the First Gentleman, we will give it a political color. Maybe, it’s also unfair to conclude that the First Gentleman has something to do with it,” Ermita said.
Liable for graft
Sen. Richard Gordon said Santos and the Sabio brothers were liable for graft for their intervention in the case and should be disbarred.
“He (Santos) talked to a relative of the justice. There is a witness against him and his circumstance at GSIS. He has a lot to explain,” Gordon said.
He noted that the case had so far shown that both sides were “playing dirty pool.”
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago proposed amending the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act to declare as a specific crime the act of an officer of the government to communicate with another officer to influence official transactions to his advantage.
Longtime friend
“Any communication, no matter how innocuous should be deemed an offense. That way no one would be tempted to make just a mere phone call, text or fax message,” Santiago said, referring to Santos’ phone call to the PCGG chair.
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Santos said he considered Sabio a “longtime” friend having known him before martial law and getting from him legal advice that enabled Santos to win the class suit against National Power Corp. for the death of 300 people caused by the flooding of Angat Dam due to Typhoon “Kading” in 1978.
“I thought it was my legal and moral duty to help the GSIS on my own. These insinuations about the First Gentleman, he never interfered in governance, much more in the case like this one,” said Santos who claimed to have been endorsed by Arroyo and appointed to the GSIS by the President four years ago.
For justice
He said Arroyo had never consulted him about the GSIS-Meralco case. “I told him (Sabio), ‘Please help to serve the ends of justice,”’ Santos said.
Santos said he did not tell Sabio to call the latter’s brother.
“You see, in this case of Meralco against GSIS, we are citizens of the country. We are the consumers being victimized by Meralco. I explained to him that in order to serve justice and defend the interest of fellow consumers we must support the campaign of GSIS president Winston Garcia,” he told the Inquirer.
Santos said his act should not be questioned based on ethics. “Ethics is like the law. More often, when it comes to interpretation, it depends. That is what happens and that is a fact,” he said.
The Firm
Santos said the end justified the means. He said he decided to lend a hand to GSIS lawyers when he heard that the Firm—Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco law office—was representing Meralco in its case in the Court of Appeals.
“I was anxious, they (The Firm) were allegedly talking with the justices, and I felt pity for the GSIS and consumers especially when the lawyer of Meralco is former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo who has not lost any case he handled in his entire career.
“Then I thought of Chairman Sabio who is an honest and trustworthy lawyer,” Santos said.
“If you were in my position, ... I am just pitching in because I am chair of the legal oversight committee,” said Santos who declared that he would do the same thing again.
Diverting from real issue
In his statement, Santos said “there’s an effort to discredit the Sabios to divert attention away from the real issue, which is the abuses of Meralco, arising from its pass-on charges and questionable deals with Lopez companies.” Meralco has denied any wrongdoing.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that if Santos had the public interest at heart, the lawyer should have given up his hefty allowance at the GSIS.
Lacson said that while the First Couple might have no direct link to Santos’ intervention, his actions were still unethical.
‘Desperation’
In a statement, a militant government workers group said Santos calling Camilo Sabio to seek the help of Sabio’s brother showed Malacañang’s “desperation” to take over Meralco.
The Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees said Malacañang was “drooling” over the ownership of Meralco. With reports from Michael Lim Ubac and Jerome Aning
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