Fate of impeachment rap vs justices 'another question,' says Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday may have hinted at the fate of the impeachment complaint against the seven Supreme Court justices.

In a report by Radyo Pilipinas, Arroyo told reporters that any citizen of the country can file an ouster petition but its track cannot be determined easily.

“Any citizen has the right to invoke the Constitutional provision in impeachment but as to whether it will prosper, that is another question,” the house speaker was quoted as saying.

Last August 23, Reps. Edecel Lagman (Albay), Teddy Baguilat Jr. (Ifugao), Gary Alejano (Magdalo party-list) and Tom Villarin (Akbayan party-list) filed ouster complaints against seven magistrates who voted to grant the government’s quo warranto petition against former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Named as respondents are Chief Justice Teresita De Castro, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo.

The House of Representatives referred the opposition solons’ impeachment complaints against the justices to its Committee on Justice on Tuesday. The panel is expected to tackle it on September 4.

The complaint is not likely to prosper in a Congress whose majority of members are allied with President Rodrigo Duterte. The chief executive had publicly called Sereno as his “enemy.”

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque also said that the ouster raps will be thrown out. “That will be dismissed. I think the jurisdiction is clear. In our Constitution, deciding on the case that is within the jurisdiction is not an impeachable offense. The Constitution states that the Supreme Court has jurisdiction on quo warranto petitions,” he said.

READ: Palace says impeachment vs 7 SC justices won’t prosper

But Baguilat, last August 27, said that they always believe that their complaint has a “fighting chance.”

For her part, De Castro, who officially assumed her new post on Tuesday, said that she has no time to be distracted by such complaints.

De Castro’s appointment was hounded by criticism as they said that her rise to the top judge post was given as a “reward” for her participation in the ouster of Sereno.

The chief justice said that people should look at her 45-years long track record in government service instead.

“I think people should just look at my track record, my long service in the judiciary and I don’t think that one incident like you mentioned (quo warranto vote) would have been enough for me to be elevated to the highest position of the judiciary,” De Castro added. — Kristine Joy Patag