Lawmaker vows to expedite impeachment proceedings vs SC justices

Oriental Mindoro Representative Salvador Leachon said on Sunday that the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Teresita De Castro and six other Supreme Court justices would be done at the “soonest possible time.”

Leachon, who is the chair of the justice committee of the House of Representatives, also assured the public that the legality of the impeachment complaint filed against the seven justices would not be compromised.

“I can guarantee that we can finish this complaint the soonest possible time without compromising, of course, the legality and significance of the issues involved in these cases,” Leachon said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM.

The statement of Leachon was made after House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself also vowed to expedite the impeachment process.

READ: Arroyo vows speedy processing of impeach cases vs anti-Sereno SC justices

“Ang ibig sabihin lang doon syempre ng ating Speaker na bilisan in the sense that we have so many works to do, equally important things to do (What the Speaker meant is to expedite the process because we have so many works to do that are equally important),” Leachon said.

“Under the rules, we have about 60 days if we wish to comply and dispose of this proceeding, so 60 session days,” Leachon added.

An impeachment complaint was filed against De Castro, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin.

Peralta and Bersamin were also among the shortlisted candidates of the Judicial Bar Council for the post of Chief Justice before De Castro’s appointment.

READ: 3 SC associate justices in impeach rap named in shortlist for CJ

Impeachment complaints were also filed against Associate Justices Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Alexander Gesmundo, and Andres Reyes Jr. /ee

READ: Opposition solons file impeachment raps vs 7 Supreme Court justices