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Sunday, October 8, 2017
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MANILA – Lawyer Larry Gadon will ask Congress to allow President Rodrigo Duterte to act as special prosecutor if the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno proceeds to trial.
“I will formally file a motion with the House of Representatives and also the Senate, whichever the case may be, na payagan maging special prosecutor si President Duterte,” Gadon said in a forum in Quezon City yesterday.
He said he will file the motion if the impeachment complaint he filed against the chief justice reaches the Senate for trial.
So far the impeachment complaint was deemed sufficient in grounds by the House justice committee. The next stage was the determination of probable cause.
As far as he knows, Gadon said, the Constitution does not prohibit a sitting president to sit as special prosecutor in an impeachment trial.
“Ang paniniwala ko diyan ay wala naman sigurong bawal diyan sapagkat this is a political exercise, at kung iyong mga associate justices nga ng Supreme Court ay iimbatahin ko na maging witness, bakit naman ang executive branch, ang Presidente, ay hindi mabigyan ng pagkakataon na makilahok sa isang political exercise na ito?” he said.
If Duterte is allowed by Congress to sit in the prosecution panel, he said the President will be able to cross-examine Sereno.
Gadon is also confident Duterte would be willing to become a special prosecutor, based on the President’s public tirades against the chief magistrate.
The camp of Sereno has yet to reply to a request for comment.
Duterte threatened to file an impeachment complaint against Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.
Before he became mayor of Davao City, Duterte was a public prosecutor, and this makes him qualified to grill witnesses if the impeachment trial pushes through, Gadon said.
Gadon said he has not yet talked to lawmakers who could potentially endorse the motion. “Wala pa akong nakakausap. Ito’y susubukan ko pa lang.”
The lawyer does not believe Duterte’s participation in will influence senators, who will sit as judges.
“Sa tingin ko hindi naman, sapagkat ang mga senador ay matured naman na individuals, professionals, sila naman ay mga sariling isip,” Gadon said, adding that the strength of the case will still rest on the evidence presented.
Gadon accused Sereno of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.
He said he has yet to form a legal team to represent him in the event of a trial but he wanted to be a private prosecutor in the case too, alongside Duterte. (GMA News)
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