CA settled transfer of Meralco case as early as June

MANILA, Philippines - A COURT of Appeals committee had decided as early as June that the division headed by Associate Justice Bienvenido L. Reyes should hear the leadership row at Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). The committee, which clarifies internal rules of the court, rejected on June 20 Associate Justice Jose Sabio, Jr.’s argument that the pending case should go with him following a court reorganization. Associate Justice Edgardo P. Cruz, who heads the rules committee that issued the opinion, said then that the case should go with the chairman of the division that originally heard the suit. In this case, the Meralco case should be handled by the eighth division, now headed by Mr. Reyes, who used to preside over the ninth division. Aside from Mr. Reyes, several former members of the ninth division, including case author Associate Justice Vicente Roxas are also now with the eighth division. The Meralco case was first raffled off to the ninth division, but had to be reassigned following a reorganization at the appellate court. Mr. Sabio has argued the wrong justices had ruled on the case because it was the ninth division composed of himself, Associate Justice Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal and Vicente Roxas that had heard the petition filed by Meralco and issued a restraining order on the cease order issued by the corporate regulator. But it was the eighth division of Justices Reyes, Roxas and Apolinario Bruselas who declared the cease order void. Mr. Sabio, who has since been moved to the sixth division, has accused businessman Francis Roa De Borja of offering him a P10-million bribe on Meralco’s behalf to inhibit himself from the case. But in an affidavit, the businessman claimed the original bribe offer to Mr. Sabio was from the government, and that the justice had asked for a higher amount. Mr. Sabio has denied the allegation and threatened to file charges against Mr. De Borja. The Lopez-led power utility had gone to the court to prevent the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from penalizing it after the management ignored the corporate regulator’s order not to count proxy votes in its favor. The government through the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) — one of the biggest shareholders of Meralco with about a third — had accused the Lopezes of manufacturing proxies in their favor. Ruling on the case transfer issue in June, Mr. Cruz, who now heads the seventh division, said the issuance of a temporary restraining order by a magistrate is not a basis for his retention of the case. "Consequently, notwithstanding the issuance of the TRO, the case [should be] reverted to the regular chairman of the ninth division (Mr. Reyes) upon his return," he added. Mr. Cruz was tasked by the full court on Thursday to interpret the internal rules following the issues raised by Mr. Sabio, who had accused the Reyes division of railroading the Meralco case. The appellate court has forwarded the Cruz opinion issued in June to the Supreme Court, which is now investigating alleged bribery in the case. But a Supreme Court insider said the relevance of the letter is yet to be determined. "More than what was decided in the [June 20 opinion], it’s the actuations of the justices that are more relevant," the official said. The high court has created a panel of its retired justices to hear allegations of bribery at the Court of Appeals. The panel will be composed of retired Associate Justices Romeo Callejo, Flerida Ruth Romero and Carolina Griño-Aquino. The panel has until Aug. 21 to submit the results of its investigation. — BusinessWorld