HOUSE Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said the House committee on rules will recommend the dismissal of the impeachment complaint filed against former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for being moot and academic.
"The Rules Committee will recommend to plenary the dismissal of the impeachment case against then Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for being moot and academic since she is no longer a public officer subject to impeachment proceedings," Fariñas said in a text message to reporters.
"Without any impeachable officer, there can be no impeachment proceedings," Fariñas stressed.
Fariñas issued the statement after the Supreme Court en banc, during its session on Tuesday, June 19, denied with finality Sereno's motion for reconsideration of the May 11 ruling that ousted her.
The Supreme Court also declared June 19 as the start of the 90-day period for the JBC to fill the top post.
Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the House justice committee that conducted the impeachment proceedings against Sereno, said he felt relieved by the latest SC decision.
"I feel so relieved that I need not prepare anymore for the Senate trial, the country is spared of this very divisive issue and kami sa JBC (Judicial and Bar Council). We can now work on the selection or nomination of the new Chief Justice so balik normal lang po tayo, balik trabaho lang po tayo," Umali told the media on Tuesday.
The JBC is an office tasked to screen and recommend to the President qualified applicants to the vacant posts in the judiciary. Because of the Sereno incident, the JBC said they will now be stricter in screening candidates vying for judiciary posts.
"I guess we will have to be stricter so that di na makakalusot yung mga ganung instances," Umali said. The JBC recommended Sereno despite her failure to submit all her SALNs.
Umali pointed out that it is very clear in the decision of the SC that the SALN is not just a simple requirement but a constitutional duty.
"Dapat maging strikto tayo dun especially in the position sa SC and the judiciary because they will be there until age 70," he pointed out.
Aside from the post vacated by Sereno, two seats, belonging to Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo- de Castro and Presbitero Velasco Jr. will soon be vacated.
Velasco will retire in August while Leonardo-De Castro will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 in October.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, for his part, asked his colleagues at the House of Representatives to respect the decision of the Supreme Court.
"Our Constitution mandates the Supreme Court to be the final arbiter of legal and constitutional questions. Let us respect its decision, no matter what our persuasions are," he said.
Alvarez likewise said that the SC ruling rendered moot and academic the impeachment proceedings against Sereno.
The House justice committee on March 8 favored complainant Lorenzo Gadon and ruled that there is probable cause to impeach Sereno. Gadon accused Sereno of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes.
Days after the Office of the Solicitor General slapped Sereno with a quo warranto case, the said panel approved the committee report along with the accompanying articles of impeachment against Sereno and submitted the case to the committee on rules for further action.
The rules committee, which was expected to elevate the case to the plenary in March, delayed its action on the committee report due to the then pending quo warranto case against Sereno.
Members of the Magnificent 7 bloc at the House earlier vowed to challenge the SC's decision by filing an impeachment complaint against the eight magistrates who voted to oust Sereno. (SunStar Philippines)