TWO staff members of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno have asked the Department of Justice to dismiss the graft charges filed against them, in connection with the alleged anomalous hiring of an IT consultant for the Supreme Court computerization project.
During the preliminary investigation presided over by Assistant State Prosecutor Gilmari Fe Pacamara, Sereno’s staff members—Ma. Lourdes Oliveros and Michael Ocampo submitted their counter-affidavits to the complaint filed in March by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, the complainant in the impeachment case against Sereno before the House of Representatives.
The respondents sought the dismissal of the charges of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Government Procurement Reform Act for lack of probable cause.
But Oliveros and Ocampo avoided media interviews and refused to furnish the media copies of their counter affidavits.
Gadon filed the complaint in connection with the alleged anomaly in the hiring of former IT consultant Helen Macasaet by Sereno’s office—one of the grounds in the impeachment case against the Chief Justice.
He specifically accused Oliveros and Ocampo, for their part, of “manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence” in the performance of their administrative duties.
The complainant alleged that only two of the eight contracts of service of Macasaet to the SC passed the Bids and Awards Committee while the six others were renewed by Sereno without the knowledge and approval of the BAC.
“The splitting of the contracts was meant to evade competitive bidding in violation of RA 9184. The mode of hiring of respondent Perez-Macasaet was a form of negotiated procurement through direct negotiation instead of undergoing public bidding,” Gadon alleged.
Gadon also questioned Perez-Macasaet’s compensation, which was P100,000 a month under the first contract and P250,000 a month in the succeeding contracts, saying it “way beyond” the compensation ceiling set by a circular letter from the Department of Budget and Management.
“By reason of compensation alone, the contracts of service of Perez-Macaset… are manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the government,” he said.
Macasaet was named respondent in the complaint. She is set to submit her counter-affidavit in the next hearing set for May 9.
Gadon filed another complaint against other SC personnel, but in connection with the alleged delay in the release of survivorship benefits for widows of judges.
He also accused SC deputy clerk of court Anna-Li Papa-Gombio and Sereno’s staff Jocelyn Fabias of violating R.A. 3019.
Gombio is chairman of the SC’s special committee on retirement and civil service benefits while Fabias is chairman of the legal technical working group.
He said it was found during hearings of the House panel that the two respondents were responsible for “unwarranted and unusual delay” in processing of application of 29 survivors of deceased judges.
Another panel of prosecutors will conduct a separate preliminary investigation on this case.
Meanwhile, a pro-Sereno group called the Coalition for Justice urged senators to pass a resolution against the quo warranto petition against Sereno, to prevent the Supreme Court from what they called “impending judicial overreach.”
“With the Supreme Court calling for a special session to deprive the Senate of its clear sole and exclusive power to remove an impeachable officer, we ask the Senate to call for a special session before May 11 and or to pass a resolution asking the Supreme Court to suspend its quo warranto proceedings and await the resolution of the impeachment,” the letter read.
“The Supreme Court is not a trier of facts. The Senate as an impeachment court is,” the group’s letter to Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said.
The group also called on the Senate to assert its “exclusive power under the Constitution to defend our democracy.”
Representatives’ committee on justice has already approved the articles of impeachment against Sereno but the chamber has yet to vote on it in the plenary.
Once adopted by the lower chamber, the articles of impeachment against Sereno will be transmitted to the Senate for trial.
A coalition of civil society organizations, meanwhile, urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the quo warranto petition against Sereno and compel five justices who are biased against her to inhibit themselves.
In a manifesto published in a newspaper Wednesday, the signatories said that granting the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida would be “illegal” and “a betrayal of democracy.” With Macon Ramos-Araneta