Justice Marvic Leonen. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law’s 2000 evening class on Tuesday called on the House of Representatives “to do the right thing” and junk the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.
“Marvic Victor (‘Marvic’) F. Leonen is a person of unimpeachable integrity,” the UP Law 2000 evening class said in a statement.
“We should not put a good Filipino down.”
The impeachment complaint was filed Monday by Edwin Cordevilla, Secretary-General of the Filipino League of Advocates for Good Government. Cordevilla was assisted by lawyer Larry Gadon.
It was endorsed at the House of Representatives by Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Barba, a cousin of Bongbong Marcos who has lodged an election protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) against Vice President Leni Robredo who beat him in the 2016 polls.
The Supreme Court sits as PET.
The impeachment complaint accuses Leonen of committing “culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust” as it questioned the Associate Justice’s integrity after he allegedly failed to file his Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SALN) while he was a professor in UP.
“Associate Justice Leonen resolves cases on the basis of their respective merits and the applicable laws, and with the cold impartiality required of a justice of our Supreme Court,” the UP Law evening class said.
In September, the Supreme Court denied the request of Gadon and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to access Leonen’s SALNs in a quo warranto petition.
To recall, it was also Gadon and OSG that filed a quo warranto petition against former Supreme Court chief Ma. Lourdes Sereno over her SALN filings in UP. Sereno, an appointee during the Aquino administration, was eventually removed from the Supreme Court.
“We have no doubt that he will continue to do so and will remain steadfast despite the threats of a quo warranto case against him before the Supreme Court and an impeachment complaint against him before the House of Representatives,” it said.
It further said that Leonen, a former dean and professor at the UP College of Law, deserves to maintain his position in the high court.
“He is a principled person who puts the interests of the country and the Filipino people first. He has not and will never betray the Filipino people’s trust,” the UP college’s 2000 evening class asserted.
“He is a person committed to the rule of law and the supremacy of the Philippine Constitution. He has not and will never violate the Constitution. These are facts,” it added.