(Eagle News) — Impeachment complaints have been filed against the seven Supreme Court justices who voted to oust Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice.
Facing the charges stated in the complaints filed by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, together with Gary Alejano, Teddy Baguilat and Tom Vilarin, on Thursday, Aug. 23, were Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Alexander Gesmundo, Andres Reyes Jr., Francis Jardeleza and Noel Tijam.
Bersamin, Peralta, Reyes Jr. and De Castro are vying for the Chief Justice post, together with Davao del Norte trial court judge Virginia Tejano-Ang.
Lagman said the complaints would be submitted to the Judicial and Bar Council, which only recently interviewed the Chief Justice post applicants.
Lagman said Samuel Martires was not included in any impeachment complaint as he was no longer a part of the SC after being appointed as the new Ombudsman.
“…They committed betrayal of public trust after refusing to (not participate in oral arguments on the quo warranto petition) ..despite their… continuing bias and prejudice vs the Chief Justice (Sereno),” Lagman said, noting that his group had “personal knowledge” of what transpired not only in the SC but also in the House of Representatives, where a separate impeachment complaint filed against Sereno was at that time being heard.
The complaint no longer moved forward in Congress after the SC proceeded to nullify Sereno’s appointment as Chief Justice on May 11, on the basis of the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida.
Calida had argued Sereno lacked the integrity required of nominees to the post in the first place because she failed to file her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth when she was teaching law at the University of the Philippines.