Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 21) — It’s final. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is not attending the hearing of the House Committee on Justice on Wednesday on the impeachment complaint against her.
The hearing aims to determine probable cause to impeach the Chief Justice. The committee invited Sereno to attend the hearing, and address allegations against her.
However, in a letter she sent through her lawyers to the committee, the Chief Justice stated she is not attending the hearing. Sereno is instead sending her lawyers to represent her.
Sereno also attached a Special Power of Attorney to her letter authorizing her lawyers to represent her, exercise her rights, and protect her interests.
“Hindi ito kapricho, itong hindi pagpunta ni Chief Justice, iyong pagpapadala ng abogado. Ito ay consistent lamang sa kung ano ang nakasaad sa alituntunin ng House rules on impeachment at sa Saligang Batas,” Sereno’s Spokesperson Josa Deinla explained.
[Translation: This is not caprice, the absence of the Chief Justice, and sending in laywers. This is consisent with the house rules on impeachment and the Constitution.]
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, however, insists that Sereno, not her lawyers, should speak for herself.
“Kasi dapat nating alalahanin na ‘yung mga abugado, hindi naman sila yung ini-impeach, hindi sila ‘yung subject ng impeachment complaint. Ngayon, kami naman, papayagan namin na she will be assisted by her counsels, pero kailangan nandodoon siya,” Alvarez explained.
[Translation: We need to remember lawyers are not the ones being impeached. They’re not subject to the complaint. As for us, we will allow her to be assisted by her counsels, but she needs to be there.]
House Justice Committee Chairman Rey Umali says the committee will vote whether or not they will allow Sereno’s lawyers to speak on her behalf.
Umali has said House Rules provide that only resource persons — not their lawyers — are allowed to speak during congressional hearings.
“Her presence and her participation in the proceeding has to be personal. How can we cross-examine the lawyers who definitely will not have personal knowledge of the matters the members of the committee will ask of them,” Umali explained.
“In the impeachment proceeding, what we need are facts and we cannot draw that from the lawyers and definitely, lawyers will have a way to skirt our questions because they definitely won’t have any personal knowledge of matters that they will ask them,” he said.
Umali then repeated his warning to Sereno that if she does not appear on Wednesday, the allegations against her will not be disputed or denied.
“Whatever will come out of the hearing, if it is uncontroverted, that will be the basis of the factual finding of the committee, that will be the basis of the report that we will vote upon,” Umali explained.
Sereno’s lawyers, however, argue that the Chief Justice need not appear in the hearing as she answered and denied accusations against her in her Verified Answer and rejoinder that were submitted to the committee.
“The Chief Justice already aired her side in detail and under oath, in her Verified Answer and Verified Rejoinder. Her failure to cross-examine complainant and his witnesses through counsel, especially if prevented by the Hon. Committee, cannot amount to an admission of the charges against her,” said Sereno’s lawyers.
