By Rey E. Requejo

THE Justice Department has recommended prosecuting businessman Francis de Borja after it found probable cause to indict him for attempting to corrupt a public official in exchange for a favor.

A three-member panel said De Borja violated the law when he offered a Court of Appeals justice P10 million to give way to another justice in a case involving the Government Service Insurance System and Manila Electric Co.

The case involved a fight for control of the Philippines’ largest power retailer between the Lopez family, which owned it, and the state pension fund, which wanted to take over.

De Borja is accused of offering the money to Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr. so he would step aside in favor of another justice favoring the Lopezes in the case.

“This panel finds probable cause that respondent Francis de Borja committed the crimes of corruption of public officials and violation of Presidential Decree 46. Let the corresponding information be filed in court,” said the panel led by Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda.

The panel’s other members were Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño and Undersecretary Fidel Exconde Jr.

“Respondent offered complainant [Sabio] a sum of money in order to persuade the latter [Sabio] to act in a manner that respondent wanted complainant to act in the GSIS-Meralco case,” the panel said.

“Such is a violation of Presidential Decree 46 and thus, respondent should be held on trial for the same.”

The panel said that on July 1 last year, De Borja called up Sabio and they agreed to meet at the Ateneo Law School lobby at 8 p.m., after the magistrate’s classes.

He then offered Sabio P10 million or P50 million—the exact amount is not entirely clear—so another justice would head the appellate court division hearing the case.

Sabio was said to have rejected the offer.

The panel noted that De Borja was close to Manolo Lopez, Meralco’s chairman and chief executive, who allegedly had been seeking Sabio’s exclusion from the case. It said De Borja kept sending text messages to Sabio asking him to reconsider.

The Supreme Court asked the Justice Department to investigate Sabio’s charges against De Borja last September.

The Court then created a panel to investigate bribery charges at the Court of Appeals, and that led to the dismissal of Associate Justice Vicente Roxas and Sabio’s suspension for two months without pay for conduct unbecoming of a justice.