Judicious exercise of power

About 200 members of the House of Representatives have expressed their intent to sign the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. This is according to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who assured the public yesterday that the complaint would not be railroaded and sent to the Senate for trial without careful assessment of the charges and the evidence.

The public will hold Alvarez to his word. Impeachment is a powerful tool against betrayal of public trust by those who cannot be removed from office through regular legal processes. Removing such officials through impeachment is a power vested in the House, with the Senate mandated to conduct the impeachment trial and assess innocence or guilt.

Like any power, this must be wielded responsibly, with national interest rather than partisan considerations foremost in mind. The whimsical exercise of this power will undermine the credibility of the process. Impeachment is one of the important tools to promote accountability and good governance. If it leads to the ouster of an official, there must be no question about the credibility and impartiality of the trial. There must be no question that the impeachable official was removed from government due to the weight of evidence rather than partisan considerations.

The House is currently assessing impeachment complaints against two of the highest officials of the land: Sereno and Chairman Andres Bautista of the Commission on Elections. An impeachment complaint is also expected to be filed this week against Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, who has been accused, among other things, of selective justice in the performance of her duties.

Impeachment starts out as a numbers game, so the so-called super majority in the House has all the votes needed to forward any complaint to the Senate for trial. The conclusion of the process, however, should be based on something much more substantial than numbers.