VACC, VPCI request for documents to support impeach case against Sereno granted by SC

THE SUPREME Court (SC) has granted the request of two groups for documents that will support their impeachment case against the High Court’s head, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno.

In yesterday’s en banc session, the SC deliberated on the letter filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption ( VACC) and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. ( VPCI) asking for certified true copies of the documents cited in their impeachment complaint versus Ms. Sereno.

SC Spokesperson Theodore O. Te said Ms. Sereno took no part in the discussion.

Among the documents that were allowed to be released are:

· En Banc resolution approving Financial Rehabilitation Rules of Procedure ( 2013), and subsequent resolution recalling its prior ruling;

· Appointment of Atty. Solomon Lumba as Chief Justice Staff Head, as signed by Ms. Sereno;

· Senior Associate Justice Jose Antonio T. Carpio’s letter on the withdrawal of his signature on the appointment of Mr. Lumba

· Memorandum to the Court en banc dated December 2012 of Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro seeking the recall of Ms. Sereno’s administrative order creating the new Judiciary Decentralized Office (JDO) and re- opening the Regional Court Administration;

· En Banc Resolution creating the Needs Assessment Committee to determine the need to decentralize the functions of SC in support of its power of administrative supervision over lower courts

The SC, however, has yet to grant the request for a copy of a memorandum dated July 10, 2017 issued by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro.

Mr. Te said that it “remains a matter that is being internally deliberated by the Court, and, thus, cannot be released until the matter is resolved by the Court En Banc.”

The memorandum on hold flagged several administrative orders, including the appointment of Atty. Brenda Jay Mendoza as chief of Philippine Mediation Center of the Philippine Judicial Academy, granting foreign travels and allowance to staff of the Office of the Chief Justice, and “long delay” of appointment of posts.

The VACC was the first to submit its impeachment complaint against Ms. Sereno last Aug. 2 at the House of Representatives. The complaint, however, has yet to be formally lodged in the House committee on justice for hearing as it lacks endorsement from a member of the House.

Majority Leader Rodolfo V. Fariñas earlier cautioned that impeachment complaints should have solid documentary evidence to gain ground at the committee on justice.

Defeated senatorial candidate and Duterte Youth lawyer Lorenzo G. Gadon also prepared an impeachment complaint but he has yet to submit it to the House. He has sent copies to several lawmakers and is awaiting sponsorship.

Mr. Gadon also went to the SC yesterday to file his own request for documents to attach in his impeachment complaint.

Included in the documents Mr. Gadon is requesting for are psychological records of Ms. Sereno and materials pertaining to the SC’s request to purchase, bidding, procurement, and delivery of the Toyota Land Cruiser that was allegedly for the chief justice’s use.

Malacañang earlier said that President Rodrigo R. Duterte, with whom Ms. Sereno had been in loggerheads with since June last year, will take his hands off the case.

Asked for a reaction on the impeachment complaints, Mr. Te reiterated that Ms. Sereno has yet to issue a statement, adding that “Now is still not that time (to comment).”—