(Eagle News) — More than 200 lawmakers are ready to sign the impeachment complaint filed before the House of Representatives against Supreme Court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, according to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Alvarez expressed confidence that the impeachment complaint against Sereno is backed by evidence as there were reportedly some justices of the high court who are ready to testify against the Chief Justice.
He said that the hearing could start as early as in the next two weeks. He said he had prevailed upon the 200 lawmakers ready to sign the complaint, for them not to do so yet, so this could be properly heard at the House of Representatives.
He said that if the 200 lawmakers signed the complaint, this would be immediately be forwarded to the Senate, and this would “unfair.”
“Kung gusto mo ng 200 (kongresista), meron e. Pero ayaw ko. Alam mo kung gusto lang namin na dumiretso yan sa impeachment court kayang kaya. Pwedeng gawin. Ayaw kong gawin,” he said.
“Kasi gusto ko dito pa lang i-hearing muna natin para makita natin kung merong ebidensya o wala. Whether it can stand trial in an impeachment court,” Alvarez explained.
ALvarez: CJ Sereno case should not be fast-tracked like the Corona impeachment
He said that he wanted to make sure that Sereno’s impeachment complaint should go through the proper process, unlike the impeachment case of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona which had been fast-tracked.
In the Corona impeachment case, the House of Representatives did not scrutinize the complaint anymore and immediately voted in session to endorse the complaint to the Senate after getting 188 votes.
But Alvarez said that the House leadership would not follow what happened in the Corona impeachment case, which was said to be fast-tracked with the backing of the the then administration of former President Benigno Aquino III.
Alvarez said that they would make sure that the evidence is strong enough before the House would forward the impeachment complaint to the Senate.
“Dahil mahirap niyan, kagaya nung ginawa kay Corona noon, Chief Justice Corona, idineretso doon sa impeachment court, nangangapa sila ng ebidensya. Unfair naman yun. Hindi maganda,” he said.
The House Committee on Justice headed by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali also assured that the two impeachment complaints filed against Sereno would undergo hearing.
Hearings on Sereno impeachment to be done after budget deliberations
Alvarez said that they will hear the impeachment complaint against Sereno after the deliberation on the proposed budget for 2018 by the Duterte administration. And this could be as early as in the next couple of weeks.
“Tingin ko naman by next week tapos na kami diyan eh, sa plenary. So yung Committee on Justice pwede nang mag-umpisa yan ng committee hearing,” Alvarez noted.
The House leadership is also confident that there is strong evidence against the Supreme Court chief justice since there were some justices who had signified their intent to testify against Sereno.
“Matibay kasi me certified true copy in support of those allegations. Tapos what I’ve heard may mga magte-testify din na mga justices..Mabigat yun,” Alvarez noted.
(Based on report of Eagle News Service reporter, Eden Suarez Santos)