Soiled

HE SAYS

Aldrin Cardon

08/06/2008

Seeing Dennis Flores exactly 30 years since we parted on March 1978 somehow gave me a big jolt. There was a cold rush down my spine as I realized how time flew — or escaped — fast. There could be little time left to renew and catch up with our friendship which started and ended with learning our alphabet and drawing our first circles.

Dennis was my crime buddy... back in Grade I, in a parochial school somewhere in historic Cavite.

He was quick to remind me that forgetfulness has no place in friendship despite time and distance. That explains why our quick meeting turned light and cozy, the convivial atmosphere killing the gloom brought by Tuesday morning’s rain.

It could have been the weather, but we ventured into so many topics that were no longer related to ourselves after some short minutes of how-do-you-dos and where-you’ve-beens. Yet, the focal point of our conversation was friendship. Friendship in school, friendship in business, and friendship in politics.

The first one was light talk, but the last two, according to Dennis, were like sending a flaming log to Hades and scorching it down to the last ember.

He cited what now seems to be a burned bridge between former friends, or acquaintances — depending on whose claim you take for truth — Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals Jose Sabio Sr. and businessman Francis Roa de Borja. An investigation is now pending before the group of retired Supreme Court justices appointed by the SC. We can no longer say which party is perceived guilty in the bribery scandal that rocked our justice system hard.

It also exposed a chink in the once invulnerable armor of the courts, giving credence to what we only thought was possible corruption and instances of bribery taking place within what should be the august halls of justice.

Sabio was placed under the spotlight of propriety when De Borja accused him of singing a P50 million tune when asked what it would take for him to shift his decision against what has already become the controversial Meralco takeover bid by the Government Service Insurance System.

The amount could make one live luxuriously for years, especially if the rise in fuel prices and the effects it has on everything, could be abetted for God’s and my children’s sake. But it could also make one change his stand, or profession, or point-of-view, even if the world attests to Sabio’s honesty and professionalism.

Sabio, of course, claimed to have not taken the bite, and tried to turn the tables on his former friend (okay, acquaintance), claiming De Borja offered him P10 million in bribe just to favor Meralco’s cause, which at that point, was being championed by one of the key members of the Lopez family, allegedly waiting in the car for De Borja’s return... and then boom! The CA found itself languishing in a scandal it would find hard to survive.

Veteran journalist Armando Doronila bared more than what is known in his analysis of the scandal in an article in the Inquirer on Monday, the most revealing of which was the chronicling of instances that showed how Sabio, who was chairman of the 7th Division, continued to act and did not relinquish a temporary post as acting chairman of the Special 9th Division hearing the Meralco-GSIS case, despite the return from vacation of Justice Bienvenido Reyes.

After a July 4 reorganization of the court, another justice reported what Sabio claimed was a disturbing call where one, apparently De Borja, allegedly offered him P10 million to yield to Reyes. Not wanting to leaved the matter “as it is,” according to Doronila’s report, Sabio reportedly asked how much money was involved for others if he was offered P10 million just to give way to Reyes.

Like Dennis, I’m sure you have your own conclusions on what would have transpired behind the desks of these honorable justices. The issue, however, obviously soiled the image of the country’s justice system. I believe not a few would share the sentiment against the courts being so malleable in cases where the rich and powerful are involved.

And with the justice system now besmirched, which part of government would you trust now?

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