THE head of a federalism movement allied with the Duterte administration has revealed that two congressmen have agreed to endorse an impeachment complaint prepared against Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.
Lawyer Larry Gadon, president of the PDU30 Constitutional Reform to Federalism and a senatorial candidate in the 2016 national elections, said the impeachment complaint, one of the many allegedly being readied against Sereno, will cite the same impeachable ground that caused the removal of then SC Chief Justice Renato Corona.
In a news forum in Quezon City, Gadon, who also acted as one of the legal advisers to former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, revealed the impeachment complaint would be filed within two weeks.
“All grounds for her impeachment are based on documents, many of them taken from her office,” Gadon said.
He said the ground for impeachment is betrayal of public trust.
One of the issues raised against Sereno is her alleged failure to include in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth the huge income she received in connection with the multi-billion peso Piatco case.
“This is the same accusation that Chief Justice Corona was found guilty of by the Senate impeachment court,” said Gadon.
Gadon also cited alleged irregularities in the High Court’s purchase of a 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser SUV last February at a cost of P5,110,500.00.
According to him, the Toyota website placed the cost of such vehicle somewhere from P4.4 million to P4.8 million.
Gadon claimed two members of the House of Representatives have agreed to endorse the complaint.
Saying he was ready to face SC’s wrath in retaliation for his actions, Gadon said Sereno should also explain the “unwarranted delay” in the resolution of various court petitions filed by Arroyo whom he described as a victim of political persecution under the previous government administration.
Among the legal issues raised by Arroyo were Sandiganbayan rulings rejecting her appeal for grant of bail, review of plunder information filed by the Ombudsman and the demurrer to the evidence.
After the change of national leadership last year, the High Court issued a decision that cleared Arroyo of plunder charges filed during the Aquino administration and freed her after nearly five years of detention.
“How many cases filed by the GMA camp did the SC sat on?” Gadon asked.
He also lamented the decision of the High Court to transfer the hearings of suspected Maute terrorists in Cagayan de Oro City, saying the venue could be dangerous to government prosecutors and witnesses due to its proximity from suspected lairs of the terror group.
