Sereno welcome to appear before House panel
O riental Mindoro 2nd District Rep. Reynaldo Umali said Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is welcome to personally appear before the House Committee on Justice and answer the allegations indicated in her twin impeachment complaints.
“Now if she wants to appear then we most welcome that. It’s her Constitutional right to confront the witnesses,” Committee Chairman Umali told reporters yesterday, a day before the panel begins hearing the Sereno complaints.
“If she doesn’t then it will remain un-rebutted and that will be held on if she doesn’t answer,” added Umali.
On Wednesday, the 51-member Justice panel will try to determine the sufficiency in form and in substance of the verified impeachment raps filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) against the Chief Magistrate.
Both complaints were submitted to the House of Representatives (HOR) as early as August, but were only endorsed by congressmen and duly filed within the last two weeks.
“She (Sereno) will be made to submit a written answer at the proper time... After the complaints have been ruled as sufficient in form and substance,” Umali said.
As per House rules, Sereno will be given 10 calendar days to answer the impeachment complaints.
Asked if the Chief Justice needs to be physically present to submit her response, Umali said it’s ultimately her choice.
“It’s her Constitutional right to confront the witnesses. Her presence there would give her that opportunity to question or to raise issues... or clarifications about alleged acts committed that are supposedly violative of the Constitution or would constitute as ground for impeachment,” he noted.
Sereno is an appointee of Benigno S. Aquino III, President Rodrigo Duterte’s predecessor.
She is being accused of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and other high crimes for her alleged litany of lapses including untruthful declaration of her wealth in both Gadon and VACC complaints.