House to invite Sandiganbayan justice to attend next Sereno impeachment hearing

Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg will be invited to attend the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to shed light on the supposed reestablishment of the Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Cebu in 2012.

Documents on the expenses incurred by the government for the launch of the supposed regional judiciary office will likewise be subpoenaed, as per the order of House Committee on Justice Chairman Reynaldo Umali.

Econg, a former Program Management Office Director at the Supreme Court and the appointed head of RCAO, was mentioned at Wednesday’s hearing due to her involvement in the reopening of the said office, which according to complainant Lorenzo Gadon and Associate Justice Teresita de Castro pushed through despite supposed objection from the court en banc.

House Deputy Majority Leader Juan Pablo Bondoc moved for the invitation of Econg after Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez was unable to provide details on the RCAO particularly on government expenses incurred for the launch of the supposed office.

The move was quickly seconded.

De Castro had said earlier in the hearing that although the justices were informed that the RCAO will be inaugurated in Cebu in 2012, the actual office that was office was called the Judiciary Decentralized Office (JDO).

As of this posting, the House panel is still discussing the matter.

Marquez said he did “not have any information” on how much was spent by the high court for the launch held at the Radisson Blu, a five-star hotel in Cebu City.

It was also Marquez who suggested that Econg might be the person privy to the details of the launch in her capacity as the RCAO’s head.

“Maybe Justice Econg would have that information because at that time what I can recall is that she was the one directly involved in the launch and the setting up of the JDO, your honor,” Marquez said. —ALG, GMA News