House panel OKs articles of impeachment vs. CJ Sereno

The House Committee on Justice on Monday approved the committee report and the articles of impeachment against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Voting 33-1, the panel approved the motion of Leyte Representative Vicente "Ching" Veloso to accept the committee report and articles of impeachment against Sereno.

Only Quezon City Representative Jose Christopher "Kit" Belmonte voted against the motion.

Sought for reaction, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said, “We leave the matter of CJ’s impeachment to Congress.” 

The committee report is composed of 45 pages, while the articles of impeachment has 56 pages.

The panel prepared six articles of impeachment against Sereno, consisting of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes.

Twenty-four of the 27 allegations cited by lawyer Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon in his complaint lodged against Sereno were included in the articles of impeachment.

The first article deals with Sereno's alleged failure to file and disclose properties in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, while the second one involves her alleged misuse of a total of P18 million worth of public funds that allegedly manifested her "grandiose sense of self-importance."

The third article is on the allegation that she arrogated unto herself the powers of the Supreme Court through acts of misrepresentation and manipulation. The fourth article is about the allegation that she "deliberately and maliciously" abused her position as chief justice.

The fifth article, meanwhile, deals with Sereno's alleged deliberate undermining and violation of the the principles of separation of powers among the three branches of government.

The last one involves her willful and deliberate failure to comply with her oath of office by alleged tyrannical abuse of discretionary power.

House panel chair Reynaldo Umali said the articles of impeachment were culled from the testimonial and documentary evidence presented during their hearings.

"These six articles are anchored on strong evidence, documentary and testimonial that will stand trial," he said.

"They are rooted from the findings of psychological and mental disorder of the Chief Justice by the two JBC (Judicial and Bar Council) psychologists and psychiatrist who examined the Chief Justice using the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder," he added.

But as far as Belmonte is concerned, the grounds presented by the panel are not enough to constitute an impeachable offense.

"Sa tingin ng mga kasamahan niya (Sereno), hindi maganda yung pagsasamahan nila, mahirap siyang pakisamahan. Pero sa tingin ko pa rin, hindi siya enough grounds para maging impeachable offense," he said.

The committee report and the articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the House Committee on Rules, which will calendar the panel's recommendations for voting in the plenary.

The articles of impeachment must be approved by at least one-third of all members of the House of Representatives before it is transmitted to the Senate, which will act as an impeachment court.

Sereno is currently on an indefinite leave to prepare for the impeachment trial. —ALG/KBK, GMA News