‘Psywar campaign’ won’t weaken impeachment defense: Sereno camp

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. Aranal Sereno. (Photo by Center for Strategic & International Studies/Flickr)

MANILA— The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno shrugged off the apparent “psywar campaign” used to condition the mind of the public by camps seeking to remove her from the Supreme Court (SC), after several impeachment hearings failed to prove that the allegations against the top magistrate were impeachable offenses.

Lawyer Winnie Salumbides, one of Sereno’s spokespersons, said statements made inside and outside the hearings of the House justice committee are purely hearsay, personal opinions, innuendos and optics to persuade the public into thinking that there’s basis to oust the top magistrate.

Salumbides made the statement in response to the possible attendance of Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, in the resumption of impeachment proceedings against the Chief Justice next month.

A news report, however, said that Carpio, one of those who opposed the appointment of then Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza to the SC as associate justice in connection with the Itu Aba issue, had yet to make a decision and even wrote the committee to clarify the scope of issues upon which his testimony is sought.

“Everyday they float new names and personalities of those who are supposed to testify against the Chief Justice,” Salumbides said in a statement.

“People can only conclude that this is all part of the propaganda to make it appear that Chief Justice Sereno is losing support among her colleagues in the Supreme Court,” he added.

Three of the 15-member tribunal- Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Francis Jardeleza and Noel Tija had testified in the House committee regarding Sereno’s supposed high-handedness in dealing with high court’s administrative matters.

Salumbides, however, said their testimonies were “personal and administrative matters that have been threshed out by the Supreme Court en banc, as these primarily pertained to its own internal rules.”

“We go back to the crucial question: are those really impeachable offenses? Definitely they are not,” Salumbides said, as he urged the justice panel to expedite the House proceedings and transmit the appropriate articles to the Senate, which will sit as an impeachment court, to ascertain whether there is basis to remove the Chief Justice from office.

“If some members of the panel feel there’s ‘overwhelming’ evidence against the Chief Justice, they should simply elevate the proceedings to the Senate. There is no good reason to delay,” he noted.

“But as it appears, the committee still wants to continue gathering evidence or build up Gadon’s case as some members probably know that the allegations are baseless and will not prosper,” he added.

The impeachment complaint was filed by lawyer Larry Gadon against Sereno.