Carpio asks House for topics to be tackled in future Sereno impeach proceedings

Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has yet to indicate whether he will attend the next hearing of the House of Representatives on the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Responding to the December 7 invitation sent by the House justice committee, Carpio said the justices and other court officials who had already testified were informed of the issues they were asked to shed light on.

“In this regard, may the undersigned likewise be informed of what topics or matters will be asked during the committee hearings of each of the officials and employees named in your letter of 7 December 2017,” Carpio said in a letter dated December 12 addressed to House justice committee chairman Reynaldo Umali.

Apart from Carpio, the committee also invited several other magistrates of the SC, Sandiganbayan, Court of Appeals, trial court judges, and other officials and employees of the judiciary.

The House panel is conducting hearings aimed at determining whether there is probable cause to elevate the complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon to the Senate, which will act as the impeachment court.

Among those who have already testified were Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Noel Tijam, and Francis Jardeleza as well retired SC Justice Arturo Brion.

During the hearing on Monday, the justices hit Sereno for allegedly imposing her will on the collegial body with De Castro saying the actions done by the top magistrate from the time she assumed the position in 2012 "showed no respect" for the 15-member Court en banc.

Jardeleza said Sereno committed acts of treason and disloyalty to the nation for divulging his confidential position on the Itu Aba, the largest feature in the disputed Spratlys, in the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China over the issue of the West Philippine Sea.

Sereno raised an issue against Jardeleza's integrity in the course of opposing his bid for SC justice post in 2014, citing the West Philippine Sea case.

Also expected to testify at the resumption of the hearing in January 2018 are Justices Samuel Martires and Mariano del Castillo.

Sereno had decided against personally defending herself before the House panel even as she graced media interviews and events where she articulated her response to the allegations.

She also resisted calls for her resignation and insisted that she had done nothing wrong. — RSJ, GMA News