THE House of Representatives’ committee on justice may dismiss the impeachment complaint filed against Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista for “insufficiency in form,” a House official said Monday.
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, the panel chairperson, said the committee would apply the same rule it applied on the impeachment rap filed against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
“The committee will have to be consistent, subject to final collegial action/approval thereon,” Umali said in an interview.
He said his panel would assess the form and substance of the Bautista impeachment complaint during its scheduled hearing on Wednesday.
In related developments:
• The Office of the Ombudsman has summoned the wife of Bautista, Patricia Paz, to shed light into his alleged ill-gotten wealth and non-declaration of assets and properties.
Lorna Kapunan, Patricia Paz’s legal counsel, said the Ombudsman had begun its fact-finding investigation into the Comelec chief’s ill-gotten wealth.
She and Patricia Paz went to the Ombudsman out of respect even if the National Bureau of Investigation had already stepped into the matter, she said.
She added they told the Ombudsman they did not want to preempt the NBI’s ongoing probe.
The poll chief declared a P176.3-million asset in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, but Patricia Paz claimed her husband owned several properties not declared in his SALN, and that he was maintaining ghost employees at the Comelec.
• Sereno’s spokesperson said Monday the chief justice had been professional with her dealings with fellow Supreme Court magistrates despite differences of opinion.
This, despite reports Sereno has been unpopular among her colleagues, with two justices allegedly willing to testify against her.
Speaking to ANC, lawyer Carlo Cruz said debates stemming from disagreements, and even elevated voices, were but normal among Supreme Court justices, and this did not affect their work.
“Nobody’s perfect with interpersonal dealings with people… the Chief Justice is professional just like all the other magistrates in the Supreme Court,” said Cruz.
“There may be debates, disagreements, discussions. There may be elevated voices. But these magistrates, after everything’s been said and done, they are brethren. They are friends,” he added.
Cruz maintained that resignation had never been an option for Sereno as she was determined to maintain the dignity of her office and preserve the judiciary’s independence.
The House justice committee last week found the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon against Sereno sufficient in form and substance.
Former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio filed the complaint against Bautista for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution over allegations of ill-gotten wealth.
The complaint was endorsed by at least three lawmakers.
The complainants of the Bautista impeachment used improper verification form that failed to state their common knowledge of the charges they alleged or based on authentic records.
They said the form was intended to send Articles of Impeachment to the Senate Impeachment Court through the support of one-third of House members or at least 98 lawmakers, keeping in mind that the so-called “creeping” impeachment would still be the rule of the game.
Last week, the House justice panel dismissed the impeachment complaint against Sereno by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption founding chairman Dante Jimenez and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution president Eligio Mallari for insufficiency in form by a 28-5 vote.
The dismissal came after Jimenez and Mallari used verification form for complaints endorsed by one third members of the House and for complaints filed by private individuals.
Like the second impeachment complaint against Sereno, House majority floor leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas revealed the ouster complaint against Bautista “copied” the defective verification form of the VACC and the Vanguard of Philippine Constitution.
Fariñas earlier took note of the Paras-Topacio complaint used a verification form for impeachment complaints endorsed by one-third of the members of the House for an automatic transmittal to the Senate even if only three congressmen, Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry Roque, Deputy Speaker and Cebu Rep. Gwen Garcia and Tagaytay City Rep. Abraham Tolentino, had endorsed it.
“You copied the verification form of the VACC-Vanguard complaint. I know because I’ve read it,” Fariñas, chairman of the House committee on rules, said.
Paras and Topacio said Bautista should be removed from office over his alleged P1-billion ill-gotten wealth.
They also alleged that Bautista failed to declare truthful Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth). Bautista declared only a total P176 million. With Rio Araja