Siquijor Lone District Representative Ramon Rocamora was admonished by the members of the House Justice Committee today.
This was when he asked Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro what she felt when Maria Lourdes Sereno was appointed chief justice by then President Noynoy Aquino, instead of her.
De Castro and Sereno both applied for the post.
Rocamora hinted that De Castro could be biased against the chief magistrate.
At this point, House Justice Committee Chairman and other committee members raised the point of order.
They asked Rocamora to accord De Castro respect as she was making an unprecedented move of an SC justice appearing before an investigation of the House of Representatives.
Justice Committee Chairman Reynaldo Umali said lawmakers must extract facts from resource persons and avoid raising argumentative questions that do not move the direction of the discussions forward.
Other lawmakers said the question was irrelevant.
As lawmakers echoed their agreement, De Castro asked if she could answer the question.
De Castro told Rocamora that there was nothing she could do when Sereno was named chief justice.
She stressed that for 20 years in the judiciary, she does not allow emotions and feelings to affect her work.
She said she made a presentation to lawmakers and brought documents to the hearing to prove that she is just stating facts.
She said she has always been respectful to Sereno.
Rocamora's questioning was stopped by Umali, citing that the time given to the lawmaker to grill De Castro had been consumed.
When the committee took a quick break, Rocamora was seen approaching De Castro and engaging her in a conversation.