SC Associate Justice Martires likely to attend House impeach hearing against Sereno

SC Associate Justice Samuel Martires. MALACAÑANG PHOTO

Another Justice of the Supreme Court (SC) is expected to testify before the House committee on justice, which is currently holding hearings to determine the probable cause to impeach Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Associate Justice Samuel Martires expressed his desire to appear before the panel, House committee chairman Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali announced during Wednesday’s resumption of the hearing.

Martires, a former Sandiganbayan associate justice, is the first appointee of President Rodrigo Duterte to the SC.

“We did also invite Justice Sam Martires who conveyed his desire to join us, also except that he has not gotten yet the authorization from the SC en banc so he conveyed that in the next hearing, he will also join us,” Umali said.

The chairman, however, did not say when Martires would be scheduled to testify.

Earlier, Umali said SC Associate Justices Noel Tijam and Francis Jardeleza, and retired Associate Justice Arturo Brion have also “intimated their availability” to appear at the hearing slated on December 11 pending the SC en banc’s approval.

SC Associate Justice Teresita de Castro has already testified before the House panel hearing in the impeachment case against Sereno. She is arguably the first sitting high court magistrate to appear in a House hearing.

Umali then thanked the SC and the en banc for its “quick action that have bearing on this impeachment hearing.”        /kga