Senate will welcome Justice Sereno if she voluntarily testifies, says Enrile
MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said they will welcome Supreme Court Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno if she voluntarily testifies before the impeachment court.
“If she wants to come, we will hear her,” Enrile said in a chance interview after the hearing.
He reiterated the Senate, though acting as the impeachment court, cannot subpoena Sereno.
“We cannot force her to come,” Enrile said.
Enrile nevertheless said the Senate can still get Sereno’s testimony through a written interrogatory if a panel requests to do so, as moved by Senator Antonio Trillanes III during Thursday’s trial.
Enrile explained a written interrogatory is a set of questions to be answered by Sereno.
Trillanes moved for a written interrogatory after Enrile ruled that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s statement as hearsay.
“Now, whether what Justice Sereno said in her dissenting opinion is true or not, [it] is hearsay as far as the secretary of justice is concerned because she was not there. She is not competent to testify, as a matter of her personal knowledge. She is only deriving her knowledge from the statement of Justice Sereno as written in her dissenting opinion,” Enrile told reporters.
The defense panel moved to strike out De Lima’s testimony from the Senate records.
However, Enrile ruled that De Lima’s testimony be retained in the records.
Meanwhile, the Senate will hold a caucus on Monday whether they will allow a written interrogatory.
The Senate had earlier ruled that they will not summon members of the Supreme Court since the legislative and judiciary are co-equal branches of government.
