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‘Psywar campaign’ won‘t affect Sereno defense, spokesperson says


The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Sunday said the apparent "psywar campaign" to condition the minds of the public will not affect their defense for the high magistrate.

Lawyer Winnie Salumbides, one of Sereno's spokespersons, said statements made during and after the House committee on justice hearings on the impeachment complaint against the chief justice are mere hearsay, personal opinions, innuendos and optics.

He said the statements were only made to persuade the public into thinking that there is basis to remove Sereno from her post. He said statements have failed prove the allegations against her by lawyer-complaint Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon.

Salumbides said the latest episode in this "psywar" is the supposed decision of the Supreme Court justices, including Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, to attend the hearings on the Sereno impeachment complaint next month.

But a news report said Carpio has yet to decide on his attendance to the hearing and even asked the House panel to clarify the scope of issues which need his testimony.

"Everyday they float new names and personalities of those who are supposed to testify against the Chief Justice,” Salumbides said.

“People can only conclude that this is all part of the propaganda to make it appear that Chief Justice Sereno is losing support among her colleagues in the Supreme Court," he added.

So far, Associate Justices Teresita de Castro, Francis Jardeleza and Noel Tijam, and former justice Arturo Brion, have attended the hearings to shed light on the allegations against Sereno.

Salumbides said the four magistrates' testimonies were only "personal and administrative matters," which have all been discussed thoroughly by the Supreme Court en banc.

Salumbides maintained that the allegations against Sereno are not impeachable offenses.

He urged the House justice panel to speed up its proceedings and transmit the appropriate articles of impeachment to the Senate.

“If some members of the panel feel there’s 'overwhelming’ evidence against the Chief Justice, they should simply elevate the proceedings to the Senate. There is no good reason to delay," Salumbides said.

The Senate will turn into an impeachment trial once the complaint against Sereno is transmitted from the House of Representatives.

“But as it appears, the committee still wants to continue gathering evidence or build up Gadon’s case as some members probably know that the allegations are baseless and will not prosper,” the lawyer said.

Gadon has accused Sereno of committing acts which serve as ground for her impeachment, such as culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, other high crimes and betrayal of public trust. —Erwin Colcol/ALG, GMA News

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