Sereno camp on House panel votes: It's no surprise
March 8, 2018 | 2:47pm
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is facing two ouster petitions: An impeachment complaint currently pending at the House of Representatives and a petition on quo warranto proceeding at the Supreme Court.
The STAR / Edd Gumban
MANILA, Philippines — "It's almost anti-climactic."
Lawyer Jojo Lacanilao, spokesperson of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, said that their camp knew that the House of Representatives Committee on Justice will vote that there is probable cause to impeach her.
In an interview with ANC immediately after the voting, Lacanilao said: "Since many months ago, the leadership of the House has been saying it's a done deal and they have enough evidence to convict the chief justice."
"We're not surprised. We actually anticipated that they would vote the way they voted this morning," Lacanilao added.
In a vote of 38-2, the House justice panel, led by Rep. Reynaldo Umali deemed that Larry Gadon's complaint has probable cause to impeach Sereno.
On March 14, members of the panel will meet to draft a committee report that will be tackled by the House plenary.
No date has been set yet on when the plenary will vote on the impeachment, as the House goes on a summer break on March 21.
Burden to prove lies with House panel
Lacanilao also reiterated that Sereno is ready to face every accusation hurled against her at the Senate, where she hopes she will be given a fair trial.
He stressed that the burden to prove that Sereno has committed impeachable acts now lies with the House panel.
"It's just a matter of them proving their case at the Senate. "The House will have a hard time mounting a case against her," the spokesperson added.
He added: "The actual hearing actually takes place at the Senate which is the only legally and constitutionally remove the chief justice if ever."
Gadon, in his verified complaint, alleged that Sereno committed 27 "impeachable acts" as a chief justice.
The House held 15 hearings to discuss the said acts, some of which were swiftly denied by the invited resource persons of the panel.
Umali has also chastised and warned Gadon that should the charges elevated to the panel are fake, he is assaulting the integrity of the House panel.
Aside from impeachment, Sereno is also facing a petition seeking the nullification of her appointment as chief justice, currently pending before the Supreme Court.
The chief magistrate has gone on an indefinite leave since March 1, and has graced public events where she remain unfazed. She also reiterated that she has no plans of stepping down from her position.
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