PCGG officials' foreign travels approved by DOJ - Sabio

MANILA, Philippines – Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio maintained that all foreign travel by the agency’s officials was necessary and cleared by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In an interview with The STAR, Sabio said he was ready to face questions about foreign travels taken this year and present the clearances issued by the DOJ.

The PCGG has been placed under the administrative supervision of the DOJ through an executive order issued last year by President Arroyo.

Sabio said the trips he and other officials, particularly PCGG commissioner for litigation Jaime Bautista, took were necessary, especially those to Singapore.

“The case for the $27-million Marcos deposit in West LB is now going into trial. This is a very important case,” Sabio said.

A trip to Europe he made last June, accompanied by Bautista and some PCGG officers, which covered Paris, France and Vienna, Austria, was also covered by a travel clearance from the DOJ, he added.

The Paris leg of the trip was made by Sabio to attend an annual stockholders meeting of a Paris-based subsidiary of the United Coconut Planters Bank, UCPI, where the government holds a stake by virtue of sequestered shares in the bank, he explained.

The Vienna leg of the trip was also necessary since the PCGG was invited to a conference of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

Sabio noted that the Philippines was frequently invited to UN CAC conferences due to its successful recovery of ill-gotten assets of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, his heirs, and cronies.

He stressed that the Philippines’ attendance of the UN CAC was also important since it earns the country much goodwill, which would come in handy when the PCGG goes after ill-gotten Marcos wealth.

“There is still much to be recovered and we will have to file cases before the courts of different countries to recover these other assets,” Sabio said.