The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division has affirmed its decision convicting former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chair Camilo L. Sabio of his graft charge for trying to influence his brother from the Court of Appeals (CA) to rule in favor of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) back in 2008.

In a resolution dated June 25, the anti-graft court denied Sabio's second motion for reconsideration to the decision which found him guilty.

Sabio argued that the rule on double jeopardy, which is the prosecution of the same offense twice, applies to his case because he was twice charged for the same criminal offense.

Sabio likewise said that the prosecution failed to present evidence that will prove that he acted for consideration or intended to obtain personal gain when he called his brother.

However, the anti-graft court refused to be swayed by Sabio's arguments. The court cited Section 2, Rule 52 of the Rules of Court, which states that no second motion for reconsideration of a judgment shall be entertained.

"It is opportune to stress that being a prohibited pleading, the second motion for reconsideration does not have any legal effect," the resolution read. "More so, the instant motion is merely a reiteration of his previous arguments in his first motion for reconsideration, which the court has already tackled and passed upon in the assailed resolution."

The three-page resolution was written by Associate Justice Lorifel Lacap Pahimna with the concurrences of Fourth Division Chairperson Alex Quiroz and Associate Justice Bayani Jacinto.

Sabio was initially slapped with two counts of violation of Section 3(a) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

On May 30, 2008, he was influenced by Atty. Santos, another public officer, in persuading his brother, Justice Jose L. Sabio Jr., to help the GSIS in a case filed against it by MERALCO, which is pending before the 9th Division of the Court of Appeals (CA), where Justice Sabio is the Chairperson.

Sabio was convicted of the first graft charge for allowing himself to be persuaded by Atty. Santos when he called his brother. Sabio himself admitted that he called his brother in his signed testimony.

For his second graft charge, the prosecution wanted Sabio to be held liable for unlawfully persuading, inducing or influencing Justice Sabio to violate Canons 1, 4, and 5 of the New Code of Judicial Conduct.

But since Justice Sabio did not allow himself to be influenced by his brother's call, the latter was acquitted. In the end, Justice Sabio, together with two other Associate Justices of the CA's 9th Division, decided to grant the temporary restraining order (TRO) in favor of MERALCO against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and GSIS.

Sabio was sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment of six years and one month as minimum up to 10 years as maximum with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.