Eastern Visayas court employees won’t join call for Sereno to quit

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno (File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

TACLOBAN CITY — Court employees in Eastern Visayas are staying out of the call for the resignation of embattled Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

“There’s no call or pressure from our national [officials] regarding this issue concerning our Chief Justice. Here in our level, we are just on a wait and see,” said Archie Sumalindao, president of the Philippines Association of Court Employees in Eastern Visayas.

Sumalindao declined to reveal their stand on the impeachment complaint against Sereno.

But he said he expected that during their national convention next month, the impeachment complaint and the quo warranto petition against the Chief Justice might be discussed.

Last week, the justice committee of the House of Representatives found probable cause to impeach Sereno.

Voting 38-2, the House panel said there was sufficient evidence that Sereno committed culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and other high crimes.

The plenary will still need to approve the findings of the House Committee on Justice. If approved,

the articles of impeachment will be forwarded to the Senate which will put Sereno on trial.

The impeachment complaint stemmed from a complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon at the House of Representatives late last year. /atm