House hears Leonen impeachment complaint this week

MANILA, Philippines — Hearings on the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen are to start this week in the House of Representatives.

The House committee on justice chaired by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso III has scheduled the first hearing on Thursday, May 27, at 9:30 a.m.

Under House impeachment rules, the panel will first determine sufficiency in form and substance of the complaint before deciding whether or not to proceed on the hearing to determine probable cause.

House leaders clarified that actions being taken by the chamber on the impeachment case do not mean it is among their priorities.

Majority Leader Martin Romualdez reiterated that Speaker Lord Allan Velasco’s recent endorsement of the impeachment complaint and its referral to the justice committee were ministerial and a mere performance of their “constitutional duty.”

“The Constitution and the House rules of procedure in impeachment proceedings are clear on the timetable for acting on such complaint. The committee on justice, after hearing, and by a majority vote of all its members, shall submit its report to the House within 60 session days from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution,” the Leyte congressman explained.
AKO Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., who chairs the constitutional amendments committee, said the Leonen case is not included in the list of measures the chamber intends to prioritize before session adjourns sine die on June 5.

Garbin said the House’s priorities are still the proposed Bayanihan 3, the proposal to amend the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, the concurrent resolution supporting President Duterte’s amnesty proclamation and the creation of the Philippine Virology Institute.

In the complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon for his client Edwin Cordevilla and endorsed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba on Dec. 7 last year, Leonen is accused of failing to file his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth for several years, and delaying the resolution of cases, including the ones pending before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal in which he serves as chair.

The magistrate already denied the charges and said he believes the issues raised in the complaint were for “personal or vindicative reasons.”

Sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal, Leonen penned the ruling of the SC that junked the election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo filed by her rival, former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

15 eye SC vacancy

Meanwhile, at least 15 aspirants are vying for the post of associate justice of the SC, to fill the vacancy created when Alexander Gesmundo was named Chief Justice last month.

In a statement yesterday, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) identified the 15 aspirants, among them Benedicta Du-Baladad, Geraldine Faith Econg, Rafael Lagos, Ronaldo Roberto Martin, Alex Quiroz, Antonette Tionko and Raul Villanueva.

Others applying for the vacant post in the SC are Nina Antonio-Valenzuela, Apolinario Bruselas, Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, Sedfrey Candelaria, Ramon Cruz, Japar Dimaampo, Jose Midas Marquez and Maria Filomena Singh.

The JBC said that five of the 15 aspirants will be interviewed online in two batches on June 2 and June 3 from 9 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Du-Baladad and Econg will be interviewed in the morning of June 2, followed by Lagos and Martin in the afternoon while on June 3, Quiroz and Tionko are set for the morning, followed by Villanueva in the afternoon.

The JBC said that candidates Antonio-Valenzuela, Bruselas, Cabotaje-Tang, Candelaria, Cruz, Dimaampo, Marquez and Singh will no longer undergo the interview as their previous interviews are still valid.

Under the rules, the public could oppose the candidacy of any of the aspirants by submitting a formal complaint before the JBC either through e-mail or face-to-face arrangements during office hours on or before the May 31 deadline. – Robertzon Ramirez