Atty. Larry Gadon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon on Friday pressed his legal attack on Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as he sued her for graft in the Department of Justice (DOJ) over her alleged failure to file statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 17 years.
Gadon, however, admitted that the DOJ could not pursue any criminal case against the chief magistrate since she is an impeachable public official.
The criminal case she brought against Sereno was different from the impeachment complaint he had filed in the House of Representatives, he told reporters.
Gadon said the Chief Justice committed the supposed violation when she was still a faculty member of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law.
“I needed to file this because there is a prescription period (in filing the case),” he said. “You must take note that some of the violations were committed more than 10 years ago.”
Ombudsman prosecutors
Told that only Ombudsman prosecutors were allowed by law to handle cases involving graft and corruption, he replied: “(DOJ prosecutors) may be allowed. It depends on the agreement (of the DOJ and the Ombudsman).”
“From what I know, if the Ombudsman lacks prosecutors, they may ask for additional designation (of prosecutors from the DOJ),” he said.
‘Clear evidence’
“As a complainant, I should not be discussing the issue of jurisdiction. For me, a law has been violated and there are many clear evidence (against Sereno),” Gadon added.
Section 15 of Republic Act (RA) No. 6770 stated that the Ombudsman has “primary jurisdiction over cases” involving graft and corruption.
He said he belatedly filed the complaint for violation of RA 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and RA 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as Sereno’s alleged criminal offenses only surfaced during the impeachment hearing of the House justice committee.
In his complaint, Gadon said Sereno worked as a law professor at UP from 1986 to 2006 before she was designated Chief Justice by former President Benigno Aquino III.
However, he said the chief magistrate submitted her SALN only in 1998, 2002 and 2006 as shown by records from UP, the Office of the President, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Judicial and Bar Council.