Enrile to be adviser in private prosecutor panel vs Sereno in impeachment trial

March 11, 2018

The chairman of the House committee on justice said former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will be the adviser of the private prosecution panel ahead of the looming impeachment trial of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in the Senate.

“[Former] Senate President Enrile will be the adviser of the private prosecution team. We have held talks with him,” said Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, the panel chairman and the expected lead prosecutor of the 11-man House prosecution team.

Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu of the Nacionalista Party welcomed Enrile’s inclusion.

Abu said Enrile was presiding judge during the impeachment trial of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona in the Senate in 2012.

“As the House of Representatives is building an airtight impeachment case in the Senate, his (Enrile) vast experience, expertise and familiarity of the Constitution will help boost the prosecution’s mission to convict the Chief Justice,” said Abu, describing Enrile as “one of the country’s best legal giants.”

Umali, a member of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), agreed with Abu.

"Enrile is available to help the prosecution panel," said Umali in a separate interview over dzBB. DMS