SC orders Sabio freed by Senate

The Supreme Court (SC) allowed Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Chairman Camilo Sabio to go home yesterday after more than a week of detention at the Senate and said it will rule on the issues involving the Philippine Communications Satellite Corp. (Philcomsat) in 45 days.

Sabio was arrested and detained last week by the Senate for refusing to appear at an inquiry into the alleged anomalous losses of the Philcomsat and other sequestered companies.

Sabio, the five PCGG commissioners and other private parties have raised questions and filed petitions before the SC on the issue.

After more than five hours of deliberations — from 1 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. — Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban also ordered the Senate committees on good government and public enterprises and the committee on public services chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon to temporarily suspend their investigation on Philcomsat.

Panganiban also ordered all parties involved to restrain from talking about the issues until the SC issues a ruling on Sabio’s petition. All parties were told to submit their respective memoranda in 15 days.

SC spokesman Ismael Khan Jr. said the warrants of arrests issued against PCGG commissioners Narciso Nario, Ricardo Abcede, Tereso Javier and Nicasio Conti and PCGG Philcomsat nominees Manuel Andal and Julio Jalandoni as well as other parties cited by the Senate for contempt were also suspended by the high court.

"The warrants of arrest will be suspended and the proceedings of the Senate were also suspended, which means that effectively Sabio has been allowed to go home with the consent of the Senate. None of the parties is allowed to talk. There is a gag rule on the matter. You cannot interview any party as it will be a violation of the ruling of the court with contempt," Khan said.

In yesterday’s hearing, Sen. Joker Arroyo, who represented Senators Gordon and Juan Ponce Enrile, said that Sabio and the PCGG commissioners cannot invoke immunity from congressional Investigations through Executive Order no. 1 because it had been nullified by the 1987 Constitution.

Former President Corazon Aquino issued EO no. 1 or the law creating the PCGG in February 1986. Section 4 (b) of EO grants PCGG officials immunity from testifying in legislative, judicial and administrative proceedings.

Gordon said though that Article 6, Section 21 and 22 of the Constitution provides that the Senate has the power of inquiry. It also stated that "public office is a public trust" and "nobody is above the law."

According to Arroyo, Sabio started invoking Section 4 (b) of EO no. 1 when he was called by the Senate to testify on the PCGG budget in 2005.

Sabio said though that he is willing to attend the Senate investigation if Senators Enrile, Gordon and the other lawyers from the ACRA law office such as Senators Edgardo Angara and Franklin Drilon who helped former President Ferdinand Marcos amass ill-gotten wealth, would inhibit themselves from the investigation.

"Those who help in the ill-gotten wealth (of the Marcoses) are now in the Senate. Tha ACRA law firm is there. Enrile founded it. Angara, Drilon are members of it. These particular senators are lording it over there," Sabio said.

He cited that the SC’s decision on the Ermita vs. Senate case upheld the constitutionality of the PCGG’s charter and its provisions, including the controversial Section 4 (b) of EO no. 1.

"The Supreme Court upheld the validity of Section 4 (b) and does not limit anyway its charter. We maintain that Section 4 (b) continues to operate," Sabio said.

He stressed that PCGG officials have absolute immunity insofar as testifying and presenting evidence on official matters.

He said Enrile, Gordon, Drilon and Angara have vested interests in the investigation of the Philcomsat case.

"I did nothing wrong except that I did not want to be compelled to testify in the Senate inquiry. I don’t want to go there and present evidence, which will later hamper our investigation and efforts to recover ill-gotten wealth," Sabio said.

For his part, Drilon said Sabio is an incompetent PCGG chairman and should submit his resignation to the President.

"He is an embarrassment to this administration," Drilon said.

Meanwhile, Gordon expressed optimism that the Senate’s decision to arrest Sabio would be upheld by the SC.

"I have no doubt in my mind about the integrity of the Supreme Court in this issue. I’m sure that the SC is going to do the right thing," the senator said during the weekly Kapihan sa Senado yesterday.

"For the last 20 years, we have an agency of the government that claim that it is beyond the jurisdiction of any state co-equal body. It is important that people realize that nobody is above the law and only because it is in the Constitution," Gordon stressed. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Marvin Sy, Raileen Yamco