Umali to discuss Carpio’s refusal to attend House hearing vs Sereno

House committee on justice chairman Rep. Reynaldo Umali. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LYN RILLON

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali would discuss with the members of the House justice committee, which he chairs, the letter from Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio declining the invitation to testify on the impeachment hearing against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

“We will discuss it in the committee first,” Umali said in a phone interview with INQUIRER on Thursday.

But Umali said three Supreme Court (SC) associate justices have confirmed their attendance in the resumption of the hearing on Monday next week, Jan. 15.

They are Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin and Samuel Martires.

Umali’s committee is deliberating the complaint against Sereno and determining whether there is probable cause to pursue with her impeachment.

In his letter to the committee, Carpio said he has no personal knowledge of the issues cited in the impeachment complaint.

READ: Carpio declines House invite to testify vs Sereno

Carpio was invited to testify on the allegation that the Chief Justice falsified a temporary restraining order of the Supreme Court in the case involving a senior citizens’ party, as well as the purported hiring of an IT consultant with excessive compensation without public bidding. /jpv