New group backs Sereno

Another group has rallied behind Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno in hurdling the impeachment case against her.

Pinoy Aksyon for Governance and Environment (PAGE) said the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon against Sereno in the House of Representatives was allegedly borne out of the interests of his political benefactors.

“The people behind the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Sereno are out for vengeance and ambition,” PAGE convenor Alberto Vicente said.

“Impeachment is an (extraordinary) remedy to strengthen our democratic institutions. It should not be used as (a) convenient tool to serve vested interests,” he said.

PAGE called Gadon a “witch hunter” who does not mind “burning in hell as long as he gets done what his political benefactors want.”

The group described Gadon as “a more sophisticated version of serial impeachment filer, his fellow Marcos loyalist, lawyer Oliver Lozano.”

“Lozano’s string of impeachment cases in previous administrations were taken with a grain of salt followed with sarcastic smiles from members of the House,” members of PAGE said.

PAGE, which describes itself as an independent think tank with development workers as its members, lamented how the House has been “giving credence” to Gadon’s impeachment complaint.

The group also noted how Gadon, during a television interview last September, claimed that Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro could be one of three justices who would testify against Sereno.

“As much as we want to insulate the judiciary from further political inclusions, we take notice of this information in the hope that the public may be enlightened on the issues,” Vicente added.

When sought for comment, Gadon dismissed the group as “another lapdog of ‘yellowtards.’”

“They do not have any credibility,” he said in a text message.

Earlier, two other groups have expressed support for Sereno – Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment and Moro Defense for Democracy Alliance.

The House committee on justice has already found the complaint sufficient in form and substance. It is set to start hearing on the charges on Nov. 20 to determine the existence of probable cause and decide whether or not to transmit the case to the Senate for trial.

Gadon has raised the grounds of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution against Sereno.