Sereno impeachment could turn into kangaroo court —group

A transparency watchdog group on Sunday said the House of Representatives' impeachment hearing against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno looks like it will turn into a kangaroo court.

Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment (FATE), in a statement expressed concern over the real motive of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez in pushing for CJ Sereno's the ouster.

"We have been monitoring the development and an obviously seen hand is manipulating the outcome of the impeachment hearing," FATE spokesperson Jo Perez said. "In Filipino, you call this ginagapang. We have a term for this, 'Lutong Macao.'"

"It seems that his (Alvarez) investment in her impeachment is driven by something other than a desire to exact accountability – it seems that he is one of the people who stands to benefit from her impeachment," Perez said.

Sereno is facing an impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gardon, accusing her of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes. It was deemed sufficient in grounds by the House Committee on Justice.

Alvarez believed that Sereno should personally appear at the impeachment proceedings to do the cross-examination herself instead of her lawyers.

Sereno's legal counsels wrote to the House justice committee last month, asserting her right to counsel and cross-examine the witnesses.

The Speaker also pointed out that if Sereno would not face the accusations against her, she better quit from her post.

FATE said that Alvarez's remarks "would easily lead one to think that the impeachment against Sereno is driven by personal agenda rather than the interest of the country."

"Indeed, Alvarez's choice of words would easily lead one to think he definitely has an ax to grind against Sereno," the group said.

FATE also took note that Alvarez had served as the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) senior assistant general manager wherein he was accused of profiting from the awarding of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract to Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCO).

The MIAA-NAIA Association of Service Contractors (MASO) filed before the Office of the Ombudsman a plunder case against Alvarez and several other government officials in connection with the alleged anomalous deal.

The Ombudsman, however, dismissed the plunder case. MASO filed another case before the Supreme Court alleging the illegality of the PIATCO contract wherein they won the case.

FATE said that PIATCO persisted and filed cases before the arbitral tribunal, thus the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG) hired Sereno as co-counsel alongside Justice Florentino Feliciano.

In 2007, Sereno testified against Alvarez and executed an affidavit before the Sandiganbayan, saying that PIATCO contracts were "grossly disadvantageous to the government."

The House panel is set to conduct the hearing for determination of probable cause in the impeachment complaint against Sereno in November following a one-month session break in the Congress. —Anna Felicia Bajo/LBG, GMA News