The House of Representatives’ committee on justice on Tuesday found sufficient in form the consolidated impeachment complaint against the seven justices of the Supreme Court by 21 votes.
The committee, led by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Salvador Leachon, will next decide on Sept. 11 the sufficiency in substance of the complaint filed against Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo.
The seven justices allegedly took away the powers of Congress to impeach when they voted in favor of granting the quo warranto petition against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the impeachment complainants claim.
Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal, a member of the committee, filed the motion to declare the consolidated impeachment complaint a verified complaint and therefore sufficient in form. Nobody among the panel members who attended the hearing objected to Oaminal’s motion.
“All these complaints have met the requirement of sufficiency in form,” Oaminal said.
In his opening statement, Leachon warned against impeaching the seven justices while he recognized the duty of Congress to hear impeachment complaints.
“The implications of this proceeding are far-reaching,” Leachon said. “If seven justices would be eventually be removed, half of the Supreme Court would be empty and half would be the designated survivors. Even the Legislative Branch may be burdened with the gargantuan task of being prosecutors and judges. Nonetheless, we likewise recognize impeachment proceedings as an integral parcel of the constitutional system of checks and balances.”
Leachon, quoting a Washington Post article, said “an impeachment offense is a necessary but not sufficient justification for impeaching and removing an officer.
“Some bad acts can be tolerated. Some call for less drastic responses than the extreme measure of impeachment, and so Congress has frequently tried other methods of reining in bad conduct before looking into impeachment.”
Leachon also appealed to his colleagues “to observe the highest standards of discernment in performing our mandate in initiating impeachment proceedings.”
He said the impeachment process involving the seven justices “shall be treated and disposed of with utmost transparency and impartiality.”
Meanwhile, the impeachment mover, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, agreed with Oaminal’s position that the consolidated impeachment complaint was a verified one.
Reps. Gary Alejano of the Magdalo Party-list, Tom Villarin of the Akbayan Party-list, and Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao were also impeachment complainants.
Earlier in the hearing, House Deputy Minority Leader and Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin moved for the consolidation of the complaints, saying the grounds of impeachment were “founded (o)n the same facts or forming part of a series of alleged offenses of similar character.”
Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo sought the suspension of the hearing to allow panel members to study the substance of the consolidated impeachment complaint.
If the panel also finds the consolidated impeachment complaint sufficient in substance, Leachon said, his panel will invite the seven justices to attend the hearings.
Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier ordered the House justice committee to dispose of the complaints at the soonest possible time to ensure that the impeachment process would not hamper the House’s legislative mill.