By: Charissa L. Atienza
The camp of Supreme Court Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno sought yesterday the dismissal of the impeachment complaint filed against her “for lack of sufficient grounds and for lack of probable cause.”
It warned that lawmakers impeaching her based on false and flimsy grounds would only usher instability and inflict injustice to the nation.
Sereno filed her 85-page verified answer to the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon before the House Committee on Justice.
Sereno’s lead counsel, Alexander Poblador, said Gadon’s allegations in the complaint were “baseless” and “totally false.”
“All the charges alleged against the Chief Justice are intended to show that she is unfit for her office. This is totally outrageous because not only are the charges totally false, they ignore what the Chief Justice has achieved for the Judiciary and for the country as Chief Justice,” he said.
Poblador said Gadon’s allegations in the complaint are based on “hearsay and newspaper clippings.”
“I’d like to say these were allegations that were not substantiated, and should be dismissed from the very start,” he said.
He said Sereno “will be fully represented” when the House panel, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, conducts hearing for the determination of grounds and probable cause whether or not to impeach Sereno.