MANILA – The House of Representatives committee on justice unanimously ruled on Tuesday that the impeachment complaint against the seven Supreme Court justices who voted to remove Maria Lourdes Sereno as chief justice was “sufficient in form.”
Magistrates facing impeachment complaints were associate justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., and Alexander Gesmundo, as well as Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro.
They committed culpable violation of the Constitution for usurping the power of Congress to impeach the highest official of the Supreme Court, the complainants argued.
Before the committee ruled on the sufficiency in form, Rep. Alfredo Garbin (Ako Bicol party-list) moved to consolidate the seven separate impeachment complaints to expedite the proceedings.
The panel suspended the session before proceeding to the determination of sufficiency in substance. (ABS-CBN News)
