Villanueva urges House to proceed with Sereno impeach bid

Senator Joel Villanueva still wants Congress to proceed with the impeachment bid against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno despite her ouster by the Supreme Court through a quo warranto petition.

In a statement on Friday, Villanueva urged the House of Representatives to transmit to the Senate the articles of impeachment against Sereno.

“I urge the House of Representatives to forward the impeachment article to the Senate. We should respect the Constitution and the rule of law,” he said.

The House’s committee on justice had already approved the articles of impeachment against Sereno but it has yet to be adopted by the plenary before it could be transmitted to the Senate for trial.

But the SC, voting 8-6, ousted Sereno by granting the quo warranto petition filed agains her by Solicitor Genera Jose Calida.

“The removal of the Chief Justice is “the biggest test to the foundations of our nation, to date. We only enjoy stability because our democracy is sustained by the mandate of our Constitution,” Villanueva, who belongs to the majority bloc in the Senate, said.

“Our fundamental law provides a singular route to remove certain public officials: impeachment,” he further stressed.

Several senators, including those in the Senate majority bloc disagreed with the SC’s ruling against Sereno.   /muf

READ: Senators ‘disagree’ with SC ouster ruling vs Sereno

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