Sereno pins hopes on support of people in impeachment case

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno
INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

It will be people power against political might.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is pinning her hopes on the vigilance of the public and the press to counter the massive political brawn of President Rodrigo Duterte’s congressional allies who are dead set on unseating her through impeachment, members of her legal team said on Monday.

Facing a herculean challenge, Sereno’s defense lawyers expressed optimism that the impeachment proceedings would adhere to the “will of the people” and that the lawmakers would be guided by their conscience and not by political alliances.

“You cannot define impeachment just as a numbers game. Truth is not a numbers game,” Josa Deinla, one of Sereno’s spokespersons, told a press conference.

Judicial requirements

While impeachment is often regarded as a mere political exercise, Deinla said legislators tasked by the 1987 Constitution to handle the trial of impeachable public officials should abide by the judicial requirements of such political process.

“Our lawmakers should decide based on political justice, not on the dictates of their partisan interests,” she said. “They should look at the evidence presented. To say that the impeachment is just a political process is wrong.”

Winnie Salumbides, another spokesperson for Sereno, urged the people to actively involve themselves in the issue ahead of the plenary deliberations of the House of Representatives on the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon against the Chief Justice.

Salumbides said Sereno was aware that the majority in the House, led by the President’s PDP-Laban party, was hell-bent on impeaching her and that Mr. Duterte himself had publicly made known his intention to remove her from office.

“That’s where the voice of the people, who elected these congressmen, will come in. That’s where the role of the media will come into play,” Salumbides said.

“We know that the Filipino people are closely following and scrutinizing the conduct of our public officials. They better act in accordance with their oath and the mandate they got from the electorate.”