House defers hearing on evidence vs Sereno
The House of Representatives committee on justice has deferred its scheduled hearing today as the prosecution team continues to draft the Articles of Impeachment against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali, panel chairman, told reporters they have moved to either March 19 or 20 the hearing where they are to bare the pieces of evidence to be presented to the Senate impeachment court.
“We were not able to finish drafting the Articles of Impeachment because we could not yet agree on which to include. Some wanted it to be comprehensive to show it is really a very strong case and I believe so too,” Umali said, admitting there were differences in legal opinions.
He promised that the Articles would be ready to be voted upon by the committee on justice on Monday or Tuesday. After the votation, the body will submit it to the plenary through the rules committee.
Umali denied insinuations that the delay was due to the weak evidence they had, as claimed by Sereno and her lawyers.
“You will be the judge when we submit the Articles of Impeachment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman yesterday urged Supreme Court (SC) justices to stop the polarization of the judiciary by staying away from anti-Sereno protests.
“Justices must maintain their dignity, impartiality and self-respect rather than show support for divisive activism against the chief magistrate. Judges and personnel of lower courts must resist pressure for them to join the fray,” he said in a news conference.
The impeachment process mandated by the Constitution, he added, “must be allowed to take its course without the judiciary and the nation being polarized.”
“Spectacles in the hallowed grounds of the Supreme Court where court personnel wearing red shirts and neckties demand for Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to resign exacerbate the conflict even as the call is made in the presence of a majority of the justices,” he pointed out.
Lagman said judiciary personnel could express contrasting views “as exercise of free speech, but blatant displays of antagonism must be reined in and avoided, particularly when they are the result of pressure and partisanship.”
SC employees staged their Red Monday protest for the second week on Monday. Though justices and their personnel attended the weekly flag-raising ceremony, the magistrates disappeared when the workers started calling for Sereno’s resignation.
Aside from court employees, the Duterte administration and its House allies are urging Sereno to quit.
Solicitor General Jose Calida has filed a petition asking the SC to remove its chief justice.
Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said Calida’s petition and calls for Sereno to resign mean that her critics do not have the votes in the Senate to convict her.
He added that the administration shifted to other tacks to remove the Chief Justice after surveying potential Senate votes for conviction and discovering that the votes are insufficient.
Under the Constitution, a two-thirds vote of all members of the Senate is required to convict an impeachable official. That means that 16 of the 23 senators have to vote for conviction to oust Sereno in case the House impeaches her.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate also believed that by filing a quo warranto case, Calida and Malacañang “are trying to exploit the division in the Supreme Court and the animosity prevailing between the Chief Justice and some associate justices.”
He said justices are allowing themselves to be pressured and used by the political branches of government as he urged Sereno not to resign and to take her chances in the Senate impeachment court.
Zarate believes that it would be difficult for the administration to muster 16 votes to convict her since the opposition counts six of the 23 senators as its members. As the six could be considered natural allies of Sereno, the Chief Justice has to convince only two senators to escape ouster.