Public appearances part of chief justice's job, Gadon told

MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's spokesperson clarified Thursday that speaking at public forums is part of her job as head of the judiciary.

This was in response to criticism by Larry Gadon, her accuser in an impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives, on her public appearances. 

"Why is CJ Sereno skipping House hearings when she has all the time doing rounds in public forums? Sereno claims she wants to focus on her duties, but she's everywhere else discussing her case in media interviews," the lawyer said.

Sereno has rarely given media interviews since being appointed chief justice in 2012.

Sereno merely executing her duties as chief justice

Sereno was invited as a keynote speaker at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines' Pagtugom sa Hamon forum, where progressive law organizations gathered to come up with legal remedies amid what she called an "increasingly glaring atmosphere of impunity."

In her speech, which ran almost 20 minutes, Sereno focused on the need for civil society and the members of the bar to collaborate in rousing government agencies to uphold human rights.

She made no mention of the impeachment proceedings against her, nor did she grant an interview with reporters after.

In the afternoon, Sereno also graced the event of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Pasay City.

"Conducting media interviews and attending public forums, inasmuch as they would make an informed citizenry and promote the respect for the rule of law, are also duties of the Chief Justice," Deinla said.

"Would the complainant further want to muzzle the Chief Justice in these public places?"

Lawyers attended on Sereno's behalf

The lawyer also stressed that Sereno, in fact, did not "skip" the hearing at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, as the chief justice sent a team of lawyers to represesnt her.

"They have no interest in passively watching and listening to the proceedings while their client's right to due process is being curtailed. Their polite departure from the hall was warranted," Deinla added.

The House panel voted to reject Sereno's appeal to have her lawyers cross-examine Gadon in the resumption of their deliberation on the impeachment complaint.

After the voting, they manifested, through Rep. Kit Belmonte (6th District, Quezon City) that they would like to leave the hall.

They were granted leave by Rep. Reynaldo Umali (Oriental Mindoro), who heads House Committee on Justice.

'Burden of proof is on complainant'

"By insisting on the Chief Justice's personal appearance at the hearings, the complainant is not only calling for the violation of her constitutional right to counsel, he is moreover forgetting that she is not responsible for proving her innocence."

"The onus to prove the allegations still lies on complainant," Deinla stressed.

During the examination conducted by the members of the House panel, Gadon was quizzed on his sources for his allegations.

The complainant, who is a vocal supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, scrambled to name his sources.

He initially floated the name of Associate Justice Teresita De Castro among his witnesses. But he later added that he has not met De Castro. Instead, he said, senior justice beat reporter Jomar Canlas acted as their intermediary.

De Castro, however, swiftly denied providing Canlas any documents or information.

READ: Sereno challenges De Castro: Choose your legacy

The House panel said that it will subpoena Canlas for the next hearing, while the rest of the justices will be invited to the hearing to shed light on Gadon's allegations.

Gadon accused Sereno of corruption, committing high crimes, violating the Constitution and betraying the public trust.

Among the grounds that he used are alleged falsified temporary restraining order issued by Sereno, and an internal memorandum signed by De Castro flagging the chief justice's several administration orders.

Members of the House would vote in plenary on whether to approve or reject the justice committee's report on December 13.

If at least a third of the members of the House—98 of 292 members—vote to approve the committee report, this will then constitute the Articles of Impeachment. The Articles of Impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate, which will try the case as an impeachment court.