House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez yesterday chided Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno for allegedly trying to turn the ongoing impeachment hearings into a propaganda war instead showing up before the House Committee on Justice to defend herself.
In a radio interview, Alvarez lamented that while Sereno has made herself busy touring various foras, she has yet to appear in the ongoing hearings.
Sereno has not attended a single hearing of the panel and instead insisted that she be represented by 11 legal counsels. She warned that refusal to allow her attorneys to represent her will constitute denial of due process.
Alvarez said that instead of “using the media,” Sereno should appear before the committee chaired by Mindoro Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali.
Based on media reports, Sereno attended a Mass at the Parish of Holy Sacrifice in Quezon City and later a youth forum at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City where she vowed to resist calls for her resignation and insisted that she had done nothing wrong. (Ben R. Rosario)
