THE Justice department will take jurisdiction and investigate the criminal complaint filed against Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, even though she enjoys immunity from criminal suit while in office.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Sunday said his department would conduct a preliminary investigation on the complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon for alleged failure to file her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth for 17 years when she was still a law professor in the University of the Philippines. Gadon is also the complainant in the impeachment case against Sereno in the House of Representatives.
“We will conduct preliminary investigation to determine if there is probable cause to charge her for any offense,” Aguirre said in a text message.
This would mean that the DoJ will summon Sereno and require her to answer the allegations in the complaint for violations of Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) and Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act).
While the DoJ will proceed with the resolution of Gadon’s criminal charge against the Supreme Court chief,
Aguirre we admitted that any results would have to be shelved at this time while Sereno remains in office.
“Since she is an impeachable official, assuming that there exists probable cause, we could not file [a case] as long as she remains an impeachable official,” he said.
Should the investigating prosecutors find probable cause in the complaint, the findings would still have to be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman for review, since the charges fall under the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court. The DoJ only has a concurrent jurisdiction with the Ombudsman in investigating graft charges.
Any government official or employee found guilty of non-filing of SALN under Section 8 of RA 6713 shall be penalized with imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding P5,000 or both, and in the discretion of the court, disqualification to hold public office.
“We will dismiss it if there is no probable cause,” Aguirre said.
In his complaint, Gadon accused Sereno of violating the laws when she only filed SALNs for three years—1998, 2002 and 2006—during her tenure as law professor at the UP College of Law for 20 years from 1986 up to 2006.
He cited records from the Office of the Ombudsman, UP, and the Judicial and Bar Council that were submitted during impeachment proceedings in the House.
Because of this alleged criminal offense, Gadon said Sereno shouldn’t have been qualified as a justice of the Supreme Court when she applied for the position. Sereno became a member of the Court in 2010 and became Chief Justice in 2012.
Gadon denied that his DoJ complaint is forum shopping since the same charge was already raised in his impeachment complaint in the House.
“The impeachment is about determining the fitness of a public official to retain her position or disposition. This complaint, on the other hand, is about criminal violations of the laws,” he said.