CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno on Tuesday decided to take an “indefinite leave” a week before the House justice committee decides on whether there is a probable cause to put her on impeachment trial for culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption and betrayal of public trust.
Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali of the Second District of Oriental Mindoro, the panel chairman, said the termination of the proceedings was done after 15 committee hearings on the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon.
“The hearings we have conducted since November of last year have proven that there are alarming issues within the High Court that necessitates evaluation of the fitness of the chief magistrate to continue holding the high office of the head of the third branch of government, which is the Judiciary,” Umali said.
“The voting for probable cause hearing we intend to hold next week to give us sufficient time to discern on our votes since the results will all depend on the individual appreciation of this committee,” he added.
Umali said his committee will vote on March 6 on the determination of probable cause to impeach Sereno.
This developed as lawyer Brenda Jay Mendoza resigned as head of the Philippine Mediation Center after her appointment to the post was tackled by the House Committee on Justice during Tuesday’s impeachment hearing.
Mendoza’s appointment to the post is among those raised by Gadon as grounds to impeach Sereno.
Her appointment was criticized by other Supreme Court magistrates for being “irregular,” as it did not pass through the court en banc.
Lawyer Josa Deinla, one of Sereno’s spokesmen, did not deny the chief magistrate’s decision to go on indefinite leave starting on Thursday, but clarified that the decision was not abrupt as she has been planning to go on “wellness leave” already.
Deinla, however, denied that Sereno was pressured by her fellow magistrates to take an indefinite leave during their regular en banc session on Tuesday.
“She has been planning to go on leave anyway. She was not forced to. Neither is her leave a prelude to her resignation,” Deinla said in a text message to the Businessmirror when asked to confirm reports that Sereno was convinced by her fellow magistrates during their en banc session to go on indefinite leave.
Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio will take over as acting Chief Justice while Sereno is on leave.
When asked anew to clarify whether Sereno’s leave is indefinite, Deinla replied: “Please wait for official statement.”
Sereno’s camp also warned members of the House Committee on Justice of possible violation of the Constitution in scrutinizing the result of the chief magistrate’s psychological exam since it does not constitute grounds for impeachment under the Constitution.
“Congress’s concerns about removal from office should focus on the specific grounds stated in the Constitution, and the psychological report is not one of them,”said lawyer Jojo Lacanilao, Sereno’s spokesman.
Lacanilao added that “expanding and redefining the grounds for impeachment is itself a violation of the constitutional provision.”
“The complaint is bogus because it is citing the psychological result, which is not part of the grounds in the Constitution as removal grounds for an impeachable officer,” he said.
Deinla had earlier dismissed as a mere publicity stunt and part of the ongoing smear campaign against Sereno the plan to make public the results of the Chief Justice’s psychological exam to attract public attention and vilify her to boost the baseless impeachment complaint.
The intention, she said, is “humiliate, insult, malign, ridicule and discredit the Chief Justice before the public.”
However, she added that “this baseless allegation could easily be demolished by Sereno’s solid background and track record,” Deinla said.
In his complaint, Gadon claimed that Sereno got a 4 out of 5 grade in her psychological exam. According to him, “an applicant to any position in the Judiciary with a grade of 4 is unfit for the job.”
Aside from this, Gadon accused Sereno of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, other high crimes and betrayal of public trust.
Gadon claimed that Sereno did not declare in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) the “exorbitant lawyer’s fees” of $745,000, or P37 million, which she received from the Philippine government.
The impeachment complainant said the issue of SALN declaration is the strongest case presented against Sereno.
The complaint also alleged that Sereno committed corruption when she, among other things, used public funds to finance her extravagant and lavish lifestyle by ordering the purchase of a brand-new luxurious Toyota Land Cruiser 2017 model as her personal vehicle, amounting to more than P5 million; and staying in opulent hotels when attending conferences in the country and abroad.
As to the alleged acts constituting high crimes, Gadon accused Sereno, among other things, of obstruction of justice by ordering the Muntinlupa judges not to issue warrants of arrest against detained Sen. Leila M. de Lima in connection with her drug cases; and failure to report her high attorney’s fees and pay the appropriate taxes therefor, among others.
On betrayal of public trust, the complaint alleged that, among other things, Sereno hired an information-technology consultant with an excessive compensation without public bidding; sent a strongly worded but misplaced reply to President Duterte on the judges linked to drugs, thereby, inviting a head-on collision between the presidency and the Judiciary; and prevented the Court of Appeals justices to do a courtesy call on President Duterte.