Sereno likely to be convicted–Jinggoy

THERE is a strong probability that Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno will be convicted by the Senate, which will sit as an impeachment court, for non Net Worth (SALN), according to former senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada.

“If [then] Chief Justice Renato Corona was convicted because of misdeclaration of SALN, Sereno’s case is heavier because she did professor at the University of the Philippines,” Estrada said during a roundtable discussion with The

ManilaTimes on Tuesday. He added that Sereno would have to answer a lot of questions regarding her non- submission of SALN as well as legal fees she received when she was hired by the government in arbitration proceedings against the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco) in 2011.

Sereno was said to have earned $336,287.66 or P15 million in the case against Piatco, builder of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

Filing of SALN is required by law, provided for under Article XI, Section 17, of the 1987 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public

In his own opinion, Estrada said, the allegations against Sereno are enough for her to be convicted by the impeachment court.

The House justice committee on Monday approved a resolution containing six articles of impeachment against Sereno that are anchored largely on her failure to submit her SALN and usurpation of the collegial authority of the SC.

The articles of impeachment will be submitted to the plenary for further deliberation and voting before they are transmitted to the Senate.

Estrada, however, said an impeachment trial is a numbers trial could be acquitted even if evidence against him or her is strong if the required number of senator-judges is not met.

A two- thirds vote of all the members of the Senate is needed to convict Sereno and since the Senate currently has 23 senators, including detained Sen. Leila de Lima, 16 senators need to vote in favor of conviction.

“I have a strong feeling. It still depends on the pieces of evidence that they will present in the impeachment court,” Estrada said when asked if he thinks Sereno will be impeached.

He was among the senator-judges who voted to convict Corona in 2012 for the latter’s failure to fully disclose his SALN.

Apart from Estrada, 19 other senators voted to convict Corona while three senator-judges namely Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Joker Arroyo voted to acquit him.

When asked what advice he could give Sereno when she faces the impeachment court, Estrada said Sereno should always respect the members of the Senate impeachment court.

According to him, one of the most unforgettable incidents during the Corona impeachment trial was the time when the thenChief Justice walked out of the session hall while the proceedings were still ongoing.

“Some of the senators were offended by it and if not for that walkout maybe he had a chance to be acquitted,” Estrada said.