House panel to vote on probable cause to oust Sereno next week

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives' Committee on Justice will put to vote the determination of probable cause to impeach Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno next week.

The panel, which has taken to calling itself as an impeachment committee, said that the hearing on Tuesday, February 27, is the last of its deliberation on whether lawyer Larry Gadon's complaint has probable cause to oust Sereno.

Rep. Reynaldo Umali (Oriental Mindoro), chairperson of the panel, lamented that the committee has received flak for taking so long on the hearing which has entered its 15th day on Tuesday. But he clarified that the panel has also taken consideration of the schedules of their invited resource persons.

READ: Umali warns Gadon after allegations flop at the hearing

Several justices have appeared before the panel as resource speakers, including Associate Justices Teresita De Castro, Presbitero Velasco and Diosdado Peralta, among others. Their testimonies, observers have pointed out, seemed to show the division among the high court justices, as they have aired grievances on the appointment of Sereno.

READ: At Sereno impeachment hearing, divisions among justices go on full display

Umali in last week's hearing also chastised Gadon after another of his allegations was swiftly denied by the resources speakers. He warned the lawyer that it is an affront against the House committee if the charges elevated to their level were fake.

Gadon, in his verified impeachment complaint, cited 27 acts of Sereno as impeachable.

The agenda during the last day of the hearing, according to Umali, covers the result of Sereno's psychological examination with the Judicial and Bar Council. He said that the panel hopes that the reports would "shed light on the decision behind the actions of respondent from the moment she applied for chief justice until now, in the impeachment proceeding."

After voting, the House panel will put the findings in a committee report. Members of the House will vote in plenary on whether to approve or reject the justice committee's report.

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 and the chief justice is impeached.

The Articles of Impeachment will then be forwarded to the Senate that will sit as an impeachment court.

Sereno has not attended the hearings, asserting that she will only attend once it reaches the Senate, which will act as the impeachment court. She expressed hopes that she would be given a "fair" trial at the upper house of the Congress.

She has repeatedly dismissed calls for her resignation and maintained that she has a clear conscience.