House panel leader dismisses bribe claim in Sereno impeachment

The head of the House committee tackling the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday branded the complainant's claim of bribery as "kuwentong kutsero."

"Sa ngayon, I do not want to be bothered by it kasi wala namang... baka kwentong kutsero na naman 'yan," said Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali, who chairs the House Committee on Justice.

"So siguro, when things get clearer at mas malinaw kung sino 'yan, then that is the time that we look into it," he said.

Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon, the complainant, has claimed that an "oligarch" is planning to bribe senators with P200 million so that Sereno will be acquitted in her impeachment case in the Senate.

Though he did not provide a name, Gadon said the supposed oligarch had benefited from Supreme Court rulings under Sereno.

Despite his claim, Gadon said he believes the senators will not be bribed as they are "dignified" and "have their own minds."

Sereno's camp, meanwhile, dismissed Gadon's latest claim as "another work of pure fiction."

“Like his impeachment complaint, Atty. Gadon’s recent claims are another work of pure fiction. They were also utterly ridiculous,” lawyer Josa Deinla, a spokesperson for Sereno, said.

Deinla said Sereno would not tolerate or even consider bribing the impeachment judges.

Umali said they would rather focus on finding probable cause on Sereno's impeachment case than on Gadon's claim.

"For the meantime, we'd rather focus on the more important matters of establishing 'yung mga charges that need to be established," he said.

The House justice panel has already conducted four hearings on the impeachment complaint and will resume on Tuesday. —with Virgil Lopez/KBK, GMA News