MANILA – The hearings on the impeachment complaint filed against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen could start next year, Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez said on Wednesday.
Rodriguez, who sits as the vice chair of the House Justice Committee, said the determination of the form and substance of the impeachment complaint could take place next year because Congress only has a week left before its recess on Dec. 18.
“We cannot rush this because we are talking here of the member of the highest magistrate, the highest court of the land,” Rodriguez said in a media forum.
Rodriguez said the complaint has yet to be referred to the committee.
He said once the complaint is found sufficient in form and in substance, the committee can proceed with the formal hearings.
“In the hearing, we will afford all the opportunity to Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to be able to answer the complaint and to be able to produce evidence on his behalf. We will make sure that this will be fair and objective,” he said.
A committee report and a resolution will be submitted to the plenary after the hearing.
If there is a substantial reason to proceed with the impeachment, Rodriguez said the House will decide through a plenary debate whether to approve or not the resolution.
Once approved, the resolution will be converted into the Articles of Impeachment.
“The Articles of Impeachment upon a vote of one-third of all the members of Congress will be immediately transmitted to the Senate, who will conduct the trials. They are the hearers of the Articles of Impeachment,” Rodriguez said.
Meanwhile, AKO Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin, another vice-chairman of the justice committee, said the members of the panel will decide on the merits of the case.
“We should stop saying that impeachment is just a numbers game. It’s not. We have rules to follow and we have to observe due process,” Garbin said.
Leonen, an appointee of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, is facing an impeachment complaint for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
Edwin Cordevilla, secretary general of the Filipino League of Advocates For Good Government (FLAGG), submitted the impeachment complaint before the Office of the House Secretary General.
In the complaint, Cordevilla accused Leonen of culpable violation of the Constitution for allegedly failing to dispose of at least 37 cases within 24 months.
Cordevilla noted that this violates the constitutional mandate requiring the speedy disposition of cases.
Leonen has insisted that the issues raised in the impeachment complaint are false.