Two lawmakers explain why they voted against finding probable cause in Sereno impeach rap

Two members of the House Committee on Justice on Thursday explained why they voted against the finding of probable cause in the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Representative Jose Christopher "Kit" Belmonte of the 6th District of Quezon City and Representative Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands remained sitting while 38 members of the House justice committee voted in favor of finding probable cause in the impeachment rap on Thursday  morning.

In an ambush interview following the hearing, Belmonte said he voted against the finding of probable cause because the complaint against Sereno itself is weak.

"Kaya nag-necessitate ang mahabang hearings para kami mismo ang maghanap ng mga ebidensiya para mag-determine ng probable cause. And sa tagal ng hearings na inupuan ko lahat maaaring ang napatunayan nila, sa tingin ng mga kasamahan niyang justice, e hindi siya marunong makisama sa kanila," he said.

"Pero para sabihin mong may probable cause para sa high crimes at culpable violation of the Constitution, ako tingin ko wala talaga," he added.

For her part, Bag-ao said Sereno has not committed any impeachable offense, and the testimonies and evidence against her failed to prove otherwise.

"Dalawa po ang napatunayan ng proceedings ng komite: Una, kitang kita naman po na may sama ng loob ang mga Justice ng Korte Suprema sa isa’t isa. Ikalawa, ang mga testimonyang naihayag ay mas lalo pang pumabor at nagpatibay ng depensa ni CJ Sereno na wala siyang nagawang culpable violation ng Konstitusyon," Bag-ao said in a statement.

"Kapag walang ebidensya—walang pruweba—samakatuwid, hindi ito totoo. Kapag sinabi ng mga inimbitahan ninyong saksi na hindi totoo ang isang paratang, hindi ito totoo," she added.

Following the voting, all the vice chairpersons of the committee were constituted as a small body tasked to draft the committee report on the proceedings as well as the articles of impeachment.

The next meeting of the panel is set on March 14, when the draft committee report is expected to be voted upon.

The committee report submitted to the plenary must be approved by at least one-third of all members of the House of Representatives before Articles of Impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate, acting as impeachment court. —KG, GMA News