A LAWYER on Wednesday night filed at the House of Representatives an impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes A. Sereno for culpable violation on the Constitution.
Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon filed his 52-page complaint against the chief justice at the House’s Secretary General’s Office”•and was endorsed by at least 25 congressmen.
“Respondent Sereno committed a culpable violation of the Constitution when she failed to truthfully disclose her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or SALN,” Gadon said in the complaint.
Reps. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu, Edgar Mary Sarmiento of Samar, Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela, Arnel Ty of LPGMA Party-list, Anthony Bravo of COOP-NATCO Party-list, Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte were among those who endorsed the complaint.
The complaint said Sereno allegedly violated the Constitution when she failed to declare in her SALN the “exorbitant lawyer’s fees” of $745,000 or P37 million which she received from the Philippine government.
Gadon said nine of the 22 pieces of documentary evidence issued by the high court have been attached to the complaint.
“The Supreme Court has agreed to furnish me 22 out of the 23 types of documentary evidence that I requested. Copies of the nine papers have been furnished the endorsers while the rest, including the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth of the chief justice will be secured within the week,” said Gadon, former counsel to former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This developed as Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the House would attend to the complaint as prescribed by law.
Alvarez said “there are many willing parties” who would support the Sereno impeachment complaint.
The Sereno impeachment complaint will be deliberated on by the House committee on justice, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali.
But the law prescribes that the complaint may go directly to the Senate for a full-blown trial if it musters at least 98 out of 293 congressmen as endorsers.