Duterte distances self from Sereno impeach raps

President Rodrigo Duterte would not want to meddle in the impeachment complaint filed against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Malacañang said on Thursday.

“He (Duterte) would respect any person or any individual who would file any case against any impeachable officer and would not really meddle with it,” Communications Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag said in a Palace briefing.

READ: Second impeachment complaint vs Sereno awaiting more signatures

Banaag said Malacañang respects the filing of complaints against Sereno because “it was within the bounds of the law.”

“We respect the decision of whoever filed the cases—the case against the Chief Justice. And of course, we’ll stand by that,” she said.

“The President respects separation of powers of each of our government agencies. If the House of Representatives would… would endorse, then, that is up to them,” she added.

Two impeachment complaints were filed on Wednesday against Sereno but no member of the House of Representatives has endorsed it.

READ: Impeach complaint vs Sereno has no endorser

Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) chairperson Dante Jimenez and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution President Eligio Mallari filed the first complaint while Atty. Larry Gadon also did not get any endorsement. With a report from Airei Kim Guanga / INQUIRER.net trainee / JPV