De Castro won’t say if Sereno committed impeachable offenses with questioned acts

Despite repeated questioning by lawmakers, Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita De Castro on Wednesday decline to give her personal opinion whether Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno had committed the grounds that have been alleged in her impeachment case.

At the resumption of the House Committee on Justice hearing, De Castro was asked several times if she thinks Sereno had violated several provisions of the Constitution, as well as the acts lawyer Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon had claimed she has done.

De Castro was invited to the House hearing to shed light on several allegations that Gadon has made against Sereno in his impeachment complaint.

These include Sereno's alleged falsification of a resolution reviving the Regional Court Administration Office in Region VII, the falsification of a stay order in the case of the Senior Citizen's party-list, several allegations pertaining to the manipulation of the Judicial and Bar Council, among others.

Surigao Del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers, for one, asked De Castro if, in her personal opinion, Sereno had committed culpable violation of the Constitution.

"Your honor, I beg your indulgence. I've been declining to answer similar questions in the course of the proceedings," she told Barbers.

Barbers proceeded to ask if Sereno, on the other hand, committed betrayal of public trust.

De Castro once again declined to answer.

SAGIP party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta, meanwhile, continued to ask a similar set of questions to De Castro.

"How grave is this act of the Chief Justice? If you were asked to describe whether it is minor infraction, whether it is a grave issue?" he asked.

"Not to mention that their collegiality might be compromised. You are now being describe, if it is wrong, how wrong is it?" he continued.

But De Castro replied: "I do not wish to preempt the committee from making that conclusion or that judgment."

Marcoleta reminded De Castro that the reason why she is invited at the House panel hearing was to give the lawmakers advice on the charges before them.

"We are just asking you to describe how wrong it is in relation to the requirement of collegiality, in relation to your own internal rules," he said.

De Castro, however, declined to give him a response.

"It is a very difficult question for me to answer. As I said, I would not like to preempt," she said.

"We do not give advisory opinions especially on matter that in the future may be elevated to the court," she added.

Undeterred, Marcoleta continued to question De Castro --- this time, citing Article 11, Section of the Constitution stating that "public office is a public trust, which he asked the associate justice if Sereno had violated.

"Your honor, it is really difficult for me to draw a conclusion from everything that is before us now because we need to give the Chief Justice to defend herself," De Castro replied.

"I do not want to give an opinion which may prejudice the Chief Justice without her being given the opportunity to defend herself," she added.

De Castro pointed out to Marcoleta that her role in the proceedings is only to provide factual matters on the allegations.

"I would like to refrain from making any conclusion with respect to the facts that are elicited in the course of the proceedings," she said. —NB, GMA News