Impeach rap vs. Bautista may suffer same fate as VACC rap vs. Sereno —Lagman

A lawmaker on Tuesday said he expected the impeachment complaint against Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista would suffer the same fate as the second complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

At a press conference, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said the complaint against Bautista might also be declared insufficient in form if the House Justice Committee would consider its decision on the complaint against Sereno filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) founding chairman Dante Jimenez and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. (VPCI) president Atty. Eligio Mallari.

"If you follow the decision of the Committee on Justice with respect to finding the complaint filed by Atty. Eligio Mallari and Dante Jimenez not to be sufficient in [form], then that too should be applied with regards to a similar verification in the case of [Jacinto] Paras and [Ferdinand] Topacio's complaint against Bautista," he said.

"That is our expectation and that should be the ultimate result, if we are to give precedent in the case of the complaint of Jimenez and Atty. Mallari," he added.

The House panel dismissed Jimenez and Mallari's impeachment complaint against Sereno after it failed to pass the sufficiency in form test.

Only the complaint filed by Atty. Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon was declared sufficient in form and substance.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas pointed out that Jimenez and Mallari used the wrong format for the verification page of their complaint.

The verification page has apparently used the format for that which is filed by one-third members of the House, and not the one filed by private complainants.

Paras and Topacio had used the same structure of the verification page of Jimenez and Mallari's impeachment complaint.

In a press conference last Thursday, Topacio said they would submit a revised verification page for their complaint against Bautista.

Lagman, however, said that since the complaint had already been referred to the House justice committee, any amendment might no longer be possible.

"Since it has been referred already to the committee, the committee has taken jurisdiction then I doubt very much that any amendment should be entertained," he said.

"We will have to rely on the original verification as referred to the committee," he added.

The House panel will hear the impeachment complaint against Bautista in a hearing on Wednesday. — MDM, GMA News