(Eagle News) — House Justice committee chair Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali on Monday expressed confidence there would be sufficient votes for the draft articles of impeachment and the committee report against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the plenary.
“The writing is already on the wall. It will not be difficult to obtain the one-third vote,” Umali said.
A vote of one-third of House members is needed to send the impeachment complaint to the Senate, under the rules on impeachment.
There are currently over 200 congressmen.
“You can safely conclude we will overwhelmingly approve this committee report and the accompanying articles of impeachment,” Umali added.
He said this would “probably happen after the break.”
Congress is set to adjourn on Monday, in time for the holidays, and will resume in May.
Earlier, the House justice committee, voting 33-1, approved its 45-page committee report which found probable cause to impeach Sereno, as well as the 56-page articles of impeachment which contained details about the charges against the Chief Justice.
Sereno also faces a quo warranto petition that seeks to have her appointment as Chief Justice nullified.