Journalist denies giving Gadon info in impeachment complaint vs. Sereno

Journalist Jomar Canlas on Monday denied he told lawyer Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon that Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita de Castro was the source of information that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno allegedly falsified court documents in 2013.

During the resumption of the House Committee on Justice's deliberation, Canlas said he never revealed to Gadon that the source on his The Manila Times news story "Justice blasts Sereno over TRO mess" was Associate Justice Teresita de Castro.

This, in contrary to what Gadon had claimed in the previous hearing.

"I hereby deny that I have intimated to Atty. Gadon that the source of facts in my article was Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita J. Leonardo-de Castro," Canlas said.

"I have never revealed to anyone my source or sources, who suffice it to say, are reliable and well-placed sources," he added.

Gadon had claimed that De Castro confirmed to Canlas that she contested the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by Sereno on behalf of the SC on May 29, 2013, accusing the chief magistrate of omitting her recommendation to stop the disqualification of the Senior Citizens party-list only, and not the party-list proclamation itself.

Sereno’s TRO was not ratified by her colleagues during the SC's special session on June 5, 2013 as the justices decided to issue a status quo ante order on the disqualification of Senior Citizens.

Canlas also denied that De Castro's was the source of information for his story.

"I also hereby categorically deny that Associate Justice De Castro was my source in the news article 'Justice blasts Sereno over TRO mess,'" he said.

De Castro herself has denied giving any information to Canlas.

“I have never released to Jomar Canlas any information, report, or document regarding the work of the Court," De Castro said in a statement on Wednesday.

Gadon, for his part, said during the hearing that he cannot really recall if Canlas had indeed given him the information.

"I cannot really remember now.... I talked to him (Canlas) several times and he may have intimated it to me," he said.

"I really cannot remember because there are a lot of people giving me information," he added.

Gadon, meanwhile, said Canlas' denial does not change the fact that the article exists.

Oriental Mindoro Representative Salvador Leachon chastised Gadon for changing his statement.

"That cannot be done at the expense of the justice committee," he said. "I would like to remind Mr. Complainant that he cannot do this."

Sereno's lawyers, however, claimed that Canlas' story is mere hearsay, even as he, himself, said he stands by each and every part of his story.

"The newspaper article, Justice blasts Sereno over TRO mess, is hearsay. It doesn’t matter whether Canlas 'stands by' his source/story or not," Sereno's lawyers said in an emailed statement on Monday.

"It doesn’t change the fact that it was Canlas’ source, and not Canlas himself, who was present during the internal deliberations relating to the TRO issue," they added.

The House justice panel is deliberating to find probable cause on the impeachment case against Sereno.

The committee's chairman, Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali, had said Gadon may face perjury charges for making such a claim.

Sereno's lawyers are also planning to file a perjury complaint against Gadon. —ALG, GMA News