Chief Justice Sereno tells House: File impeach case now

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno yesterday called on the House of Representatives to immediately file an impeachment case against her before the Senate for trial, saying the proceedings at the lower chamber are futile for her defense.

Lawyer Josa Deinla, one of Sereno’s spokespersons, cited the public pronouncements of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and House justice committee chair and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali indicating prejudgment of the charges in the complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon.

“Chairman Umali has publicly announced that the Chief Justice’s impeachment is already a done deal. He publicly stated that the impeachment process is just a matter of formality because the Chief Justice is expected to be ousted amid the strong belief of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez that the issues raised against her stand on strong and solid ground,” she said in a statement.

“The House should now vote on the case and elevate this to the Senate where we expect to have fair trial and the rights of the Chief Justice will be respected in accordance with the Constitution,” Deinla stressed.

There is no more reason for Sereno to attend the hearing to personally answer the charges, according to Deinla, considering the prejudgment made by House leaders on the case.

“The impeachment proceedings will be nothing but a charade and the House committee on justice will just be resorting to a vilification campaign and fishing expedition to cover up for a fatally defective complaint against the Chief Justice,” she alleged.

“Why will the CJ attend the hearing when Umali has said that it’s a mere formality because Speaker Alvarez wanted her impeached and they will impeach her?” she asked.

Deinla said they find it ironic that both Alvarez and Umali have already claimed that there is strong ground to remove the top magistrate from office and still continue with the committee’s fishing expedition to boost the “baseless and malicious” allegations against Sereno.

The lawyer also took exception to Umali’s repetitive claim that the Chief Justice did not want to participate in the impeachment proceedings. She said Sereno has answered the charges in her verified answer.

“We wish to reiterate that the Chief Justice has accepted the invitation of the committee to attend the hearings through her counsel, which is her right under the justice panel’s own rules and the Constitution, but the committee did not allow her to be represented by her counsels of choice and to cross-examine the complaint and the witnesses through her lawyers,” she explained.

“While the Chief Justice respected the process, the committee did not follow its own rules and deprived her of her constitutional rights,” she added.

Deinla pointed out that the hearings still have not produced any solid evidence and sufficient grounds to impeach Sereno.

She cited, for instance, yesterday’s hearing when testimonies of witnesses failed to prove the liability of Sereno in the delayed survivorship benefits for widows of deceased justices and judges.

“Throughout the discussion, there was no evidence or indication that the Chief Justice tried to control or influence the Technical Working Group’s work in any way. The fact is she did not need to interfere because all of the TWG’s recommendations would have to be taken up by the Supreme Court (SC),” she added.

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